When Jefferson Miller was a kid, Friday nights were movie nights.
It was his favorite weekly tradition. His family would rent a movie from a video rental store and gather in the living room. Miller loved those nights. They offered a break from homework, and they were the only times he was allowed to have root beer.
Those nights were how his love of movies began.
As Miller grew older, VHS tapes and DVDs became outdated and streaming services became the norm. Throughout the 2010s, the once wildly popular Blockbuster video store chain closed almost all of its locations worldwide. There is just one left which is independently owned and operated out of Bend, Oregon.
Despite that, Miller’s love for what might now be considered relics never died. Instead, it inspired a small business.
Joined by co-owner Chris Emery, Miller will oversee Very Good Video Store in Oak Park. To be located at 3433 Broadway, the business will only sell or rent movies and videos on old-school formats such as DVDs, VHS and Blu-ray. The store will also only deal with the devices used to play the outdated media such as CRT (tube) TVs, VCRs, and DVD or Blu-ray players.
Emery and Miller decided to start Very Good Video Store after seeing the video store industry fade and longing for the old media devices and the joy that came with watching movies on them.
“We miss the experience of the social part of it,” Miller said. “Going to the video store… the conversation you have, the walk in the aisles with your friends, your family. We just had so many fond, warm memories of doing that.”
Miller admitted that opening the business is a bit of a gamble. Despite that, they hope those who feel as they do will support their business.
“Our main (goal) isn’t making millions of dollars. It’s creating what we miss in the community,” Miller said.
The Sacramento community has already come through to help Miller and Emery launch their business. A Kickstarter campaign surpassed its $30,000 goal, raising $34,000 for their venture.
Very Good Video Store will offer rentals for thousands of DVDs and the more contemporary Blu-rays and will be selling “anything (someone) can hold in (their) hands that plays a movie,” Miller said. The business will also host movie-themed events and offer a membership program, according to its Kickstarter.
There’s a family element to renting a movie or buying a DVD for a movie night, Emery said. He said his parents were cinephiles, and he grew up on classic ’90s family movies such as “E.T.,” “Goofy Movie,” “FernGully: The Last Rainforest,” and “Rock-a-Doodle.” If you ask him what his prized possession was as a kid? Emery said it was his VHS copy of “Willow,” which he still has to this day.
“The heart of the family moved from the campfire in the caves to the glow of the TV in the living room,” Emery said. “I was able to connect with my family on a deeper level, have inside jokes and continue building memories like that.”
For now, the two are preparing to launch their business in the fall, Emery said. The store will have its soft opening in early October.
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Emma Hall covers retail and business for The Sacramento Bee. Hall graduated from Sacramento State and Diablo Valley College. She is Blackfeet and Cherokee.