I'll write a movie review tomorrow, but today, I'm writing the rare editorial. As you can surmise from the title of this blog entry, I'll be harping on the topic of Mom 'n' Pop video stores. There is one in particular that inspired me to pen this piece, a godly rental joint named Visart Video. It's located in Charlotte, NC (about an hour away from my house). I discovered it while searching online for independent video stores. To say that I miss places like Visart would be a vast understatement. I live in the middle of nowhere. The closest thing we have to a respectable video store is...fuck, a Netflix warehouse maybe?
I recently visited Visart Video. I made a day of it, and I even stopped nextdoor at a gnarly comic book shop. Stores like this were commonplace back in the day, and if it were 1992, I wouldn't have geeked out as soon as I caught an eyeful of exploitation titles just waiting to be taken home. But it's 2011. The independent video store is a dying breed. I hadn't been to an honest-to-Satan film emporium of this caliber in quite some time, so I squealed when I saw an entire shelf devoted to Troma epics. The Mystery Science Theater 3000 section? Forget about it. I ejaculated Vanilla Coke in the general direction of MST3K: The Movie.
I ended up buying a few flicks. For those curious, I picked up The Black Hole, The Lady in White, Friday the 13th Part 3 (I have it on VHS, but I wanted it on DVD), Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter and Alien (on Laserdisc, bitch!). In a word, my Visart experience was tubular. Or radical. Whichever. One of the reasons why I'm writing this extended blurb is because I want to help promote Visart Video in any way that I can. This isn't the most popular website in the world, but if I can at least get a single nerd to check this store out, then I'll feel like I've done a service to mankind. It's either that or curing cancer, and let's be honest, this is way more important.
Click HERE to go to their website. If you're fortunate enough to have a brick-and-mortar rental joint nearby that isn't called Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, give them business. I love Netflix just as much as the next horror buff, but I don't see why it can't co-exist with Visart Video. Can't we all just get along?
Dom, I'm envious that you have a store like Visart in your area - and with a comic book store next to it, no less! I went into the sole remaining Blockbuster in my city the other week and even though I used to sneer at BB, going there reminded me of how much I miss being able to browse through a video store. I love being able to get things through VOD and Netflix and so on but there's something about the tactile experience of being in a video store that just can't be replaced.
ReplyDeleteI think video shops like this one will make a come back, especially since Blockbusters gone out of business, plus, there have been so many millions of movies made, that a place that specializes on having them, and knowing about them is needed and I believe places like these can make good business to anyone with the balls open one up.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I've always wanted to open up a little video shop myself! In fact, I was seriously thinking about it until I saw how they were all closing down. But now, with the dissapearance of Blockbuster, people would appreciate a place like that. Especially if whoever owns it knows his movies!
There is one thats about a half hour from where I live that everyone goes to, precisely because it has EVERYTHING, and the guy who runs it knows EVERY movie, thats the kind of mom and pop shop that's needed in the world. Same as you, I can get lost in stores like that!
I agree, guys. There is nothing quite like getting lost in a sea of dusty VHS covers. And you're right, Franco. Having an employee who knows their shit is a huge plus.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to help keep Visart going for the same reasons you describe. Meanwhile, Twiggy works incredibly hard and puts her heart and soul into figuring out what to buy and how to improve the store's offerings. She has the store staffed by people who know damned near everything about movies, from mainstream stuff to "Hobo with a Shotgun" (which some of the people I know would argue is mainstream).
ReplyDeleteWe think Visart has more titles than ANY video purveyor, including Netflix.
Haowever, we are swimming against the tides of commerce and technology and can use all the help Visart can get. Our website reflects the fact we don't know nothin' about websites and it reflects that our marketing and website budgets are nonexistent; the money goes into new acquisitions. We know somehow we need to get our titles on the website and work out a way to serve people who can't get into the store. We are not particularly close to doing it.
We do pretty well at impressing just about everybody who comes in the store and browses a little. We have 31,000 titles, well organized and with people who know how to recommend the right thing to just about anybody. Visart's got everything a geek (like me and most members of my family) wants, and its got pretty much anything a middle aged lady from Eastover, or an overly-protective parent of a six-year old, would want too. We need the geeks to bring in their parents.
We haven't figured out how to spread the word well enough, and we need to persuade folks to deal with real people and not so much with vending boxes or with computers on the west coast.
Visart is hanging in, but it can use all the help it can get. We'll take ideas, marketing help, website help and/or money. Most of all, we'll take people getting their friends and family into the store checking out movies.
Thanks again.
Mickey Aberman
Co-Owner