Night Owl Video, the last remaining video store in New York City, is celebrating its first anniversary this weekend with plans to potentially expand due to increasing customer demand. The Brooklyn-based shop has experienced a surge in popularity for physical media formats despite the dominance of digital streaming services.

Co-owner Aaron Hamel noted that the store is actively seeking to increase its inventory to accommodate growing interest, particularly among younger customers from Generation Z. This trend runs counter to the general decline of physical video rentals and sales over the past two decades.

Jess Mills, co-owner of Night Owl Video, emphasized that every section of the store has seen growth, including trading cards, which have also attracted significant attention. However, it is the continued appeal of DVDs and even VHS tapes that has been most notable. “Their popularity has been amazing to see,” Mills said, highlighting how these formats remain in demand among collectors and film enthusiasts who prefer tangible copies.

The store’s success reflects a niche but resilient market for physical media, spurred by customers seeking the tactile experience of browsing shelves, collecting, and owning media in a way that streaming platforms do not offer. While some industry observers note the limited scale of such demand in the broader context of media consumption today, Night Owl Video’s experience demonstrates that physical formats have not entirely lost their following.

As Night Owl Video considers expanding, it remains a unique fixture in a city once saturated with video rental outlets, now a rare holdout preserving the culture of physical media in an increasingly digital entertainment environment.