Be Kind, Rewind, & Connect at One of SF's Last Video Stores

When Colin Hutton took over Video Wave in 2005, it was one of three other Video Stores in Noe Valley. Today, it is one of the last of its kind in all of San Francisco. 

The collapse of video stores is, when you think about it, a little puzzling. What Netflix was to video stores, Spotify has arguably been to record stores, and e-readers to physical books - yet only video stores didn't survive the transition. 

It'd be easy to chalk up Video Wave's survival to the same tactile, anti-scroll instincts that kept its counterparts alive. But Hutton doesn't buy it:

Hey explained that people do like physical media, and that it’s just not a trend that’s benefited Video Wave. The resurgence of old media, in his view, comes down to an interest in collecting: records, CDs, old cameras are things we bring home and display, almost as self-expression. 

A video store customer, by contrast, returns their DVD with nothing to show for it but the memory of having watched it. If Hutton's right, the rental model itself is what killed most video stores.

Not Video Wave, though. 

Its clearest advantage is a monthly subscription model Hutton introduced in 2019 - tiers from $9-$24 offering a set number of free rentals a month, with unused rentals rolling over. Around 600 monthly subscribers, as of 2026, are what keep the place running. But that only explains what sets Video Wave apart from other video stores — not what its subscribers actually get out of it. That's what I wanted to figure out, across two visits and several conversations with Hutton and his customers.

Beyond its window display adorned with a red neon OPEN sign and slightly rumpled posters, the store is about what one would expect: DVDs stacked floor to ceiling, a return basket near the front door, and Hutton himself tucked behind the counter, engaged in enthusiastic conversation with a customer (the sound of Hutton speaking to customers is as much a feature of the place as the furniture).

One frequent topic of discussion is the limitations of streaming services.

"Streaming is good for convenience, but it's a very limited amount of things they have. If people aren't watching it, clicking it, using it — it takes up space that something else has to pay for,” he said.

Hutton described increasing frustration with these platforms amongst his customers. Rising prices, shrinking libraries, and a focus on retention metrics rather than actual satisfaction are chief amongst their concerns.

He cited the cancellation of Blade Runner director Ridley Scott’s HBO series as a prime example. The show, titled Raised by Wolves, a high-budget, well-reviewed sci-fi drama, was canceled after its second season, which ended on a cliffhanger.

“My 29,000 titles aren't like streaming. It's not a collection that's here today and gone next month. If I've had it, I've always had it, and I'm always going to have it," Hutton said.

Most streaming services offer around 6000 titles each, meaning Video Wave’s collection is just about equivalent to paying for 5 different streaming services. Even if you did, hypothetically, choose to do so, Hutton emphasized that a lot of what you’d be paying for is badly made straight-to-streaming filler. 

"The reason my store did better than some of the other stores is that I focused on the really good stuff," he said. 

Said ‘really good stuff’ includes a directors section, the Criterion Collection (a company focused on finding, restoring, and releasing important classic and modern films from around the world) and an extensive collection of foreign films. 

On paper, that's the case for Video Wave: a real alternative for those burned out on streaming.

Films that streaming services don’t offer, however, can still be rented online via platforms like Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV, so a great selection can’t be the whole story. 

"What I hear often, especially from people who come from somewhere else, is 'I wish there was still a video store where I live.' It's so much more enjoyable than trying to find something on streaming,” said Hutton.

James Curran, a long-time Video Wave customer, appreciates the selection and the experience of browsing, but Hutton himself is what keeps him coming back. 

Hutton has an incredible memory: for movies, of course, but also for where exactly they’re located in his store. Ask him about any movie and, despite having a computerized database at the counter, he’ll start rifling through the collection in his head. 

"People ask questions like — 'I was hoping to find this movie that had Jack Nicholson and so-and-so in it.' And somehow I usually knew. I'd go get it, and they'd be like, 'how did you do that?' I don't really know — I just remember these things."

His memory extends to the individual tastes of repeat customers as well - a skill that might have something to do with his past as a law reference librarian. 

“I'll hold up a movie and say ‘What about this?’ and he’ll just give me the straight scoop,” Curran said.

Take another of Hutton’s customers, a woman who lives all the way up in Petaluma and receives Video Store rentals by mail.

“She asked me for a list of Joan Cusack movies that are okay to watch with her kids. I've met her kids. I know who they are, what their ages are. You try to get that online, and you're not getting anything close to firsthand information,” said Hutton.

Hutton, however, thinks the appeal of his expertise is more than utilitarian. 

"To me, that's the hallmark of a neighborhood — that sort of neighborhood-level recognition and community service.”

When a barista has your coffee order memorized, for example, it feels good, but probably not just because it shaves a few seconds off your morning routine. It’s the sense that we know and are known in return by the people that live and work around us that we truly value.

Turns out: that recognition runs both ways. 

In 2015, Video Wave was located at a spot, three or so blocks away from where it is now, as it had been since it was founded in 1983. That year, the landlord attempted to double Hutton’s rent unlawfully, setting off a series of events that’d leave Hutton with no choice but to move the store. 

He had to figure out if the store would survive, if he was going to move, and how he’d move even if he chose to do so. As it turned out, he wouldn’t have to deal with it all alone. 

“It was the neighbors, customers, people from the neighborhood I didn’t even know - they had shown up to help.”

Hutton remembers a few people showing up with trucks, others simply walking armfuls of stuff over and coming back for more, and still more packing the contents of his store into trolleys.

“That's how the bookcases got here. Me and customers rolled them here, literally, sometimes in the middle of the day, usually in the evening. It was such a blur, it's hard for me to even remember — I got so much help."

I am beginning to suspect that the value people derive from Video Wave is as much human as DVD-related. We all like movies, making them a pretty incredible conversation starter, especially when you're talking to Colin Hutton (as the sign says, he most certainly knows movies!). There aren’t so many places left that provide such fertile grounds for new connections to be made. And, of course, to pick out a damn good movie.

At present, Hutton is a one-man show - he handles rentals, memberships, donations, inventory, displays, cleaning, and customer service. Looking forward, he imagines making enough money to hire some neighborhood kids and give them some job experience. 

“Hopefully I'm growing in that direction, but it's not there yet, right now," said Hutton.

Video Wave of Noe Valley is located at 4027 24th St., San Francisco.

Store hours are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. (closed Wednesdays and Sundays).