Browsing the shelves at a video store is a rare experience in an era when streaming is king, and thousands of movies are at the ready on your phone or smart TV.
But that nostalgic feeling is not entirely lost thanks to places like Vidiots. The beloved independent video shop is re-opening its doors at a new location in Eagle Rock this week.
The iconic video store shut down its original Santa Monica location in 2017 due to financial struggles. But after a fundraising campaign championed by big-name “founding members” like Mark Duplass, Aubrey Plaza, and Elijah Wood, the nonprofit entered a long-term lease for a new space on Eagle Rock Boulevard — along with the shuttered Eagle Theatre, which it will reopen to offer a full slate of film programming.
The new Vidiots complex will include a 271-seat theater, a bar, a micro-cinema, and a video rental shop. Photo by Maggie Mackay.
Vidiots Executive Director Maggie Mackay says the theater will help keep the video store afloat while reviving another beloved neighborhood institution.
“Much like Vidiots was in Santa Monica and beyond, [The Eagle Theater] was a beloved film hub and a third space for so many people’” says Mackay. “People in our neighborhood still remember going, and now they are going to get a chance to bring their kids and their grandkids and their nieces and nephews to the same place they grew up falling in love with movies.”
The film programming will include a mixture of popular, crowd-pleasing popcorn movies and deep cuts for self-proclaimed cinephiles, says Mackay. As for the video shop, it will be bigger and better than ever, offering 60,000 titles on DVD and Blu-ray for customers to browse and rent.
The collection includes a wide range of movies, including experimental and art films, and self-produced movies by independent LA filmmakers, which were accumulated by the store’s founders Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber.
Many can be rented out, and Mackay says the organization also has plans to digitize the rarest pieces in the collection. “Just because something isn't accessible, doesn't mean that it's not worthwhile to preserve,” she says.
Vidiots has expanded its collection to include 60,000 titles on DVD and Blu-ray. Photo by Maggie Mackay.
While the new space and business model will certainly bring some changes, Mackay says at the end of the day, the fundamental Vidiots vibe will remain the same.
“I think that when people who were longtime customers, or had visited and felt the wave of Vidiots-ness wash across them, they will feel that exact same thing,” says Mackay.