A nonprofit called Saturn Video is preparing to open the Twin Cities metro's only video rental storefront, planting itself in Minneapolis's Seward neighborhood after three years spent running pop-ups at local markets and theaters. Owner Sierra Parham has built the collection to more than 600 titles, including rare copies purchased from the shuttered Video Universe, and is aiming to hit 1,000 titles by opening day.
The Twin Cities hasn't had a permanent video rental store since Video Universe closed its Robbinsdale location in 2023, a shutdown driven in part by a lack of new physical media, as reported by Axios. That closure ended nearly 40 years of Video Universe serving as the region's last commercial video rental storefront; the owner was retiring and could not find another buyer for the shop, according to CBS Minnesota. Saturn Video will be the first operation among the current wave of local revivalists to open an actual physical storefront rather than a pop-up or remote drop-off point.
Parham's idea was inspired by hearing that Video Universe was closing about three years ago, while she launched Saturn Video in earnest last year after being laid off from her job, and she has since secured fiscal sponsorship from Springboard for the Arts to accept tax-deductible donations, per Racket's reporting. That arrangement lets Saturn Video accept tax-deductible donations.
What's on the Shelves
Saturn Video will stock hard-to-find DVDs, Blu-rays and VHS tapes, according to Axios, with an emphasis on features by women, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC filmmakers alongside mainstream studio titles. Parham told Axios that a lot of media is already gone from the internet, and that streaming catalogs are always changing while purchased movies can simply be taken away. Digital licenses can lapse and online archives can disappear.
Membership will run $10 a month, letting subscribers check out one video at a time with unlimited swaps, while individual rentals will also be available for a few dollars, per Axios. Parham hopes to eventually keep the shop open late for movie screenings and film discussions, though exact hours are still being determined. She told the outlet there's a big demand for video rental operations right now, as both cinephiles and casual movie fans drift back toward physical media.
A Crowded, Cooperative Scene
The Video Store MPLS, founded by Eric Knobel, launched a Kickstarter campaign to open its own volunteer-run shop in Minneapolis, documented by BackerTracker. Axios reports that the project raised more than $33,000. That project has not yet secured a location, per Axios, and Knobel began building his collection.
Two other member-supported operations round out the local scene. Ant Hill Video, founded by Sarah Huisken, runs a $3-per-month rental service out of South Minneapolis using pickup and drop-off at Moon Palace Books, specializing in sci-fi, horror, and animation titles without charging late fees, according to Sloppy Discs. Sloppy Discs itself, founded by Emmet Kowler, is a pop-up rental operation.
Rather than competing, these four projects have built a collaborative network that holds joint events. In April, Saturn Video, The Video Store MPLS, Sloppy Discs, and Ant Hill Video partnered for a Rental Revival gathering at Columbia Heights' Heights Theater, which included tabling from each group and a screening of the 1997 cult sci-fi horror film Event Horizon.
A National Physical Media Rebound
The Twin Cities' rental revival lines up with a broader national trend. U.S. consumer spending on physical media reached $870 million in 2025 as disc sales declines slowed sharply to 9.3%, down from a 23.4% drop the year before, while 4K Blu-ray sales expanded by 12%, according to Digital Entertainment Group data cited by Film Threat. The slowdown followed a supply vacuum at the retail level: Best Buy phased out its in-store and online DVD and Blu-ray sales in early 2024, not long after Netflix officially shut down its 25-year-old DVD-by-mail business that September, as detailed by Stat Significant.
Community-run archives elsewhere show both the promise and the risk of this model.
Saturn Video's choice of Seward as a home base places the project in Minneapolis. For a project built on community support rather than corporate backing, it's hard to imagine a more fitting address.
