Introduction

I recently did some travelling and visited one of the few remaining video rental stores in Canada. 

I found out about this store in a news article. They've been in business for over forty years, the store got a new owner in 2020, and even though video stores are largely a thing of the past, this one somehow survived the pandemic.

The store has pretty much everything: VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, 4K, collectibles, drinks, snacks, and popcorn. I believe they also have some video games, but no where near as many of them as movies. I haven't visited a video rental store in at least a decade, and kind of missed them. It was a very long drive to this store, but it was worth it.

Arrival

A lit OPEN sign, popcorn, and new releases...yep, this is most definitely a video rental store I'm looking at in the year 2022.

Movies Everywhere

As expected, pretty much everywhere you look in this store you see shelves full of movies in just about every format you can think of. There are hundreds of VHS tapes available to buy for a buck each, and DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K for rent and sale. Horror, Drama, Thriller, Action, classic movies, modern movies, kids movies, adult movies...it's all there.

Atmosphere 

The walls have several vintage posters, such as Ghostbusters and The Breakfast Club. New Releases are also advertised apparently, though not all of these are exactly new.

Snacks And Drinks

I didn't get any snacks (you'll find out why if you read my upcoming blog), but they have their own bags of "famous" already-made popcorn. They've also got a cooler with Pepsi drinks. Lots of Candy by the counter too. Basically, the kind of goodies you remember being in the video stores of the past.

Purchases 

As I don't live anywhere near this store's location, I couldn't rent anything. But I still decided to buy something and support the place. I bought Dick Tracy on VHS. It wasn't a dollar like most of the other VHS tapes, but it does look clean and it does work. I don't have it on either DVD or Blu-ray and it's been years since I last watched it, so I was happy to buy it. I don't mind that I got it on VHS, as I have a large VHS collection.

As I paid for the movie I briefly talked to the owner, Joe French. He seems like a nice guy. He was talking to a few other customers while I was looking around, and seems knowledgeable and is able to answer pretty much any question about movies that he's asked.

Conclusion 

This blog isn't as big as my other blogs. I couldn't hang around at the store for too long as I had other things to do, and it was a long drive back home. But I'm glad I was able to visit one of the few video rental stores left in Canada, I got to take some pics, and I got Dick Tracy on VHS. Maybe I'll return someday (if they're still open).

-MegaMan52