On an off-and-on rainy Friday afternoon in San Francisco, one store on 24th Street has been busy since opening at 1 p.m. Customers peruse packed shelves in sections labeled “New Releases,” “Sci-Fi” and “Comedy.”
Owner Colin Hutton talks shop about old classics, special features, directors, remakes and more, while also checking a customer’s account status.
“It looks like you still have a free rental available, so you can use that today,” he notes.
It’s a scene from the early aughts, but it’s most days at Video Wave of Noe Valley, the only standalone video rental store still open in the city.
When he bought the business in 2005, San Francisco had video stores everywhere.
“But by 2008, because of Netflix by mail, not even streaming as much, almost every other store closed,” Hutton said.
Monthly subscribers, help sustain the store.
During my in-store visit, I watched Hutton move between the counter and shelves filled with DVDs, Blu-rays, VHS tapes and four generations of PlayStation games.
He spent time with every person who walked in, chatting with them about possible rental selections. Connecting customers to good movies, he said, is “definitely one of the most fun parts about what I get to do,” Hutton said.
Hutton, a former librarian finds that managing a vast video inventory is comparable to running a library filled with books.
“Like a librarian, I know the contents of my collection,” he said. “And I like working with the public, answering questions and being helpful.”
His ability to recall details—from plotlines to actors’ filmographies to how many versions of “Wuthering Heights” he stocks—has become part of the experience.
“I don’t know how Colin remembers what each of these films is about, but he always gives a good review. He can give you the short version or the longer version and make recommendations as well,” said Carolyn Kenady, a Noe Valley resident.
Kenady was casually wandering the aisles that afternoon. It had been a while since she’d last visited. She mentioned an interest in renting recent Oscar-winning films and recommended “One Battle After Another,” noting the store’s strong selection overall.
“This is a huge resource,” she said. “I can come in here and learn a lot, even if I don’t walk out with a DVD.”
Kenady has been stopping by periodically since Hutton and his then-business partner relocated the store in 2015 from 1431 Castro St. to its current location. She’s also a monthly subscriber. Even if she fails to use it, being a subscriber makes her feel like she’s helping to keep the store open.
Memberships range from $9 (“basic,” includes one free monthly rental) to $24 (“weekly renter,” includes four free monthly rentals). Hutton keeps printed sheets detailing rates at the checkout counter, along with a handout listing rental prices.
Hutton introduced Video Wave’s rental subscription model in August 2019, reaching 550 members by early 2020. Memberships dropped during COVID, but he is now at about 600. To work, he says, he needs roughly 700 to 750 subscribers.
“With everything going on in our country, supporting local business takes on new meaning,” Kenady said.
Hutton, who bought his partner out, has run the store alone for about a decade, handling rentals, memberships, donations, inventory, displays, cleaning and customer service. “I don’t have much of a life other than running my store and watching movies and trying to be helpful,” he said.
His biggest issue – after sustainability – is space management for his nearly 30,000 titles.
“I’m always acquiring new things,” he said. “My stacks are getting way too high.”
And why do people go to a video store?
“People tell me all the time, and it’s true for me as well, that this is a cathartic, escapist thing—to choose not to watch the news all the time and instead watch something else,” he said.
Hutton creates rotating displays including a “Staff favorites” shelf. Robert Redford and Rob Reiner sections are currently available, along with an “anti-fascist, dumb President, fight-the-power mini-section,” curated in response to current events.
“I feel like I have to do something, and I can’t do much. It’s a weird time to be pretending like it’s business as usual,” he said.
“One of the reasons people come here is that you can just see so much more at one time than you can see streaming,” Hutton said. “I have seven to eight times what most streaming services have available all the time—and my collection doesn’t change every month.”
“I know I don’t have everything, and I know I’ll never be able to get everything, but I have a lot,” he said.
Video Wave of Noe Valley is located at 4027 24th St., San Francisco.
Store hours are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. (closed Wednesdays and Sundays).
