RST Video Reveals Blu-ray and Betamax Walls Ahead of Grand Reopening
Two decades after its closure, RST video, the store made famous in Kevin Smith's Clerks, is set to [...]
Two decades after its closure, RST video, the store made famous in Kevin Smith's Clerks, is set to reopen in early 2020 -- and the store launched a new website recently and just shared a first look on Instagram at the "new" store -- with a cleaned-up floor and shelving and a bunch of movies on the wall, ranging from new releases on Blu-ray to cult classics on Betamax. Yes, that's right -- Betamax. No word yet on whether RST will be carrying the short-lived RCA VideoDisc/CED format, although we imagine not. Either way, the new ownership told us when the reopening was announced that he planned to make it a haven for physical media aficionadors and cinemaphiles alike.
Artist and businessman Tucker Brennan announced plans to reopen the famed RST Video as a boutique store earlier this year. As its predecessor was, RST Video will be a functional video store, renting and selling over 3,000 titles on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and other home entertainment formats. He has said that the brick-and-mortar location will be complemented by a heavy online presence that will expand RST Video's footprint, which Brennan hopes to prioritize in-person connections for cinephiles and pop culture fanatics alike.
You can check the images from the cleaned-up store out below.
"This has been a labor of love," Brennan said of the endeavor. "Video stores were a prevalent part of my youth. With the rechristened RST Video, I am enacting my dream: to give fans a one-stop destination for a unique, communal retail experience lost in the age of streaming."
In addition to being just a cool video store, the Leonardo-based RST has become something of a geek mecca since Kevin Smith exploded into the popular consciousness in the mid-'90s. While the poor clerks at the Quick Stop next door are constantly bombarded with tourists buying up all their vaseline, asking for just "cigarettes" instead of a brand, and messing around with their eggs, their requests to peek inside of RST have been, for years now, denied by ownership on the grounds that it isn't actually a functioning business. Brennan, though, plans to bring RST back -- complete with much of the old stock, the original signage, cash register, and as many fixtures as are still viable after all these years.
"I love this idea!" Kevin Smith, the store's most famous customer and employee, told ComicBook.com. "Can't wait to do an in-store appearance there so I can go back to work at R.S.T. Video again!"
There is no official date for the grand opening, but in early 2020, it appears there will be as many RST Video locations in the world as there are Blockbuster stores. You can like the company on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @RSTVideos. If you want to help get the store off the ground, you can buy some merch from the store at the link above.