Video stores were written off as casualties of the steaming era — but they're staging a comeback, Axios Local reporters tell us from cities around America.

Why it matters: New rental shops are opening around the country as people rediscover the fun of browsing the shelves for movie night.

• Plus, as streaming prices rise, digital licenses lapse and online archives disappear, many cinephiles are returning to physical media for guaranteed access to both new and beloved films.

🍿 Blockbuster's days are over. Just one independently owned store remains, in Bend, Ore. But a new generation of video stores is picking up where it left off.

• In the Twin Cities, nonprofit Saturn Video will open next month, stocked with hard-to-find DVDs, Blu-Rays and VHS tapes, Axios Twin Cities' Audrey Kennedy reports.
• In Richmond, Va., Blue Rose Video & More opened earlier this month, selling DVDs, Blu-rays and 4Ks, and offering DVD rentals. It's at least the third new video store to open in the Richmond area this year, Axios Richmond's Karri Peifer reports.
• In Philadelphia, Little Movie Store — set to open next month — has a 20,000-title collection for the city's physical media fans to peruse, Philly Voice reports.
• In Sacramento, Very Good Video is opening this fall to serve as a rental store and a community gathering spot, hosting screenings, trivia and more, reports The Sacramento Bee.

👀 The intrigue: Some of the biggest fans of the video store revival are young people.

• Video stores hit a sweet spot for Gen Zers, many of whom are just old enough to remember wandering the aisles and picking out a DVD as kids, notes the LA Times.

The bottom line: The nostalgia economy is booming, and video stores are the latest comeback story.

• Find your Axios Local city.

The view during reader Ashley Corso's dinner at the Marine Room in La Jolla, Calif., earlier this month.