Video stores make a comeback in Sonoma County

Five years ago, when the national video store chain Blockbuster - once a giant - closed its North Bay outlets, local video watchers wondered if it was the death knell of all video stores, especially the smaller, local ones.

The answer is simple and conclusive: Several of them are still here and enjoying somewhat of a revival among people craving the retro experience, and to rent and buy movies they can’t find any other way.

Film buff Kent Dyer, 31, of Santa Rosa, has been frequenting Santa Rosa’s Video Droid store for the past several years, finding the movies he seeks and picking up others recommended by the shop’s staff.?“I just always enjoyed going into movie stores as a kid,” Dyer said. “Not only is it an experience to go into the store, but you’re keeping a local business alive and allowing people to have jobs. I have Netflix, but there’s something about coming in and getting the physical video. Whether it’s nostalgic or not, it’s just nice.”

Video Droid maintains a subscriber list of 15,000 customers and signs up an average of 125 new ones per month, said store owner Mark Lowe. He estimates there’s a core of 5,000 customers who come in once a month or more.

“The stores that have hung on, like us, are experiencing a new surge, especially with the 20- to 30-year-olds,” Lowe said. “A lot of these movies you can’t find anymore, and they’ve heard about them from their parents or seen blurbs from the movies on YouTube.”

One factor that has helped independent video stores survive is that streaming services such as Netflix, which helped drive the big video chain stores out of business, are increasingly more interested in producing their own programs than providing customers with rare or vintage titles, Lowe said.

“Netflix is putting its money into original programming now, and there about 100 titles a month that they’re not renewing the rights to,” Lowe said. “I would say that if this store wasn’t around there are between 2,000 and 4,000 movies that would never be seen again.”

Video Droid stocks some 40,000 titles, divided into 60 categories, some rather specific, such as “When Animals Attack” or “Grand Theft Video,” as well as a wall for Showtime programs and another for the archival Criterion Collection of classic movies.

At Joe Video in Santa Rosa, owner Joe Kaminski maintains a steady influx of incoming videos to bolster his collection.

“We get in, on average. 25 to 30 new titles every week, everything from the big box office hits to the classics,” Kaminski said. “The movie studios just expressed in a major trade magazine that they have a lot of faith still in the viability of discs, which is refreshing to hear. Warner Bros. is one of the companies that is taking a look at its inventory and releasing a lot of titles - if not for the first time - then for the first time in a long time.”

But a vast inventory is not enough. “What matters is how many regular customers you have,” Kaminski said. “Fortunately, there are people who crave the tangibility of just coming in and seeing the titles and talking to real people.”

On a recent afternoon at Joe Video, a faithful customer - Robert Ortiz, 69, of Santa Rosa - summed up why he comes to the store.

“Joe really loves what he does. He asks all of the people who work for him to watch the movies. You can talk to the people here about the films,” Ortiz said.

At Video Droid, one of the regulars is Frank Zwolinksi, 73 - founder and former director of the Santa Rosa Junior College’s Summery Repertory Theatre company for 38 years. He visits the shop almost daily.

“The problem with Netflix is the movie doesn’t come in a box,” Zwolinksi said wryly. “I want to have a box in my hand, and be able read all the credits and background. But the other reason I come here is I want the personal contact with the people at the store. Mark knows everything about movies.”

Zwolinski also craves fare that might not be in vogue on the streaming services at the moment.

“One thing they’re not making enough of anymore is adventure films, like ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ and movies about hunting for treasure, so if one of them comes in, Mark knows that I want see it,” Zwolinski said.

At Joe Video, frequently requested titles including such cultish films as the fact-based crime drama “Blood In Blood Out” and director Mel Gibson’s Mayan epic “Apocalypto,” as well as the standards and classics, including the “Godfather,” “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” series.

An ironic side note in the saga of video store survival is that Video Droid owner Lowe’s brother, Mitchell Lowe, is the co-founder of Netflix, a career opportunity that grew out of the Lowes’ early ‘80s venture into the video store business.

Despite their current stability, the independent stores have taken their losses over the long term.

Founded in Mill Valley in 1983, Video Droid once was a regional chain of 15 stores, and now has just one shop on Santa Rosa’s Mendocino Avenue and another in Larkspur. Joe Video, founded in Santa Rosa 10 years ago, closed its Bennett Valley outlet last fall, but still maintains its store on Stony Point Road. But both Lowe and Kaminski sound optimistic about holding their ground.

“People ask me how long I expect to stay in business,” Kaminski said, “and I say, ‘As long as the companies are still pressing discs.’”

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.