Folks Are Building '90s Video Stores In Their Basements ... Because Why Not?

A lot of people are adopting new hobbies to help cope during the pandemic; baking bread, podcasting, podcasting about bread, sitting in your car screaming into a paper bag while your family is asleep. And, as we’ve mentioned before, a lot of people have renewed their nostalgia for video stores. Well, now one Midwestern barber has taken that love for VHS rentals to a whole other level.

As reported by The New York Times, Iowa barber Brian Hogan used his recent free time to convert his basement into an old-school, mom-and-pop-style video store “out of necessity and boredom.” After his local video store finally closed, Hogan consolidated his home video collection into this faux shop, complete with a dropbox for returns, cash register, and a “half-hidden adult section” — reminding us that video stores were weirdly a place where you could rent both porn and The Return of Jafar. The project went viral after Hogan’s wife created a TikTok account showing off her husband’s project, dubbed the “Video Bunker” that, apparently, came at the expense of a kitchen renovation. 

Weirdly, despite the fact that this project is making headlines, it’s not that uncommon of an endeavor. Just searching the words “basement video store” on YouTube turns up a bunch of videos documenting similar homemade subterranean video stores. Like this one in Houston, Texas --

And the aptly named “Nostalgia Video” --

So if, at some point in the future, some dude in his 40s attempts to lure you into his basement, don’t worry he may just be offering you a stack of Steven Seagal VHS tapes and a bag of Doritos from 1994. 

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter! And check out the podcast Rewatchability.

Top Image: Wikimedia Commons