A Video Store Just Opened in Austin in 2026

Netflix, YouTube, and streaming dominate how most people watch movies now. Even so, Austin Video Store is betting there's still a business in owning VHS, DVDs, and cassettes.

The new independently owned shop opened in July near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 720 Bastrop Hwy. Owner Nick Kiowski, an engineer by day, started the business because the kind of video store he wanted to shop at simply didn't exist anymore.

Instead of rentals, Austin Video Store operates on a buy, sell, and trade model. Its shelves are packed with VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-rays, cult movies, anime, television box sets, and harder-to-find physical media. The store also sells the vintage hardware needed to play them, including VHS players and CRT televisions.

And despite operating out of a small storefront tucked away near the airport, it's already attracting a crowd. CultureMap reports that the business has grown almost entirely through Instagram and word of mouth, with customers sometimes lining up before the doors open on Sundays.

It may sound like pure nostalgia, but there's still a surprisingly large market for physical media. A Consumer Reports survey found 49% of Americans had watched a DVD or Blu-ray in the previous year, while 15% had watched a VHS tape. Physical copies also solve a problem streaming can't: once you own a movie, it can't disappear because a licensing agreement changed.

Austin Video Store is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 5-9 p.m. and Sundays from 12-8 p.m. If digging through shelves for a forgotten movie sounds more fun than scrolling through Netflix for 30 minutes, go check them out.