According to a June report by the market-research bible IBISWorld, there are approximately 10,000 independent stores in the U.S. that rent movies and video games — down from nearly 24,000 such operations in 2004. So what does this mean for the remaining independent video stores? Many of them consider financial subsistence a new reality of the business, and pin their hopes on an experience that can’t be matched by streaming services: a physical space for people to talk and learn about movies, knowledgeable staffs, and vast catalogues of rare titles on VHS tapes and DVD.

The key challenge is getting people in the door. Film screenings in the low-ceilinged basement of San Francisco’s Lost Weekend video store (pictured) draw meager crowds, so the owners offer their stage to stand-up comics several nights a week. As many as 35 fans turn up, pay a $5 or $10 cover, and buy some candy or a soda during the show. Profits are minimal, but over time, the shop has begun to see itself not just as a fledgling business but perhaps resembling what it used to be: a neighborhood social hub with cultural capital, according to store co-owner Christy Colcord.

“In the last five years, we have become more like a barbershop. People befuddled by all the change are coming in to talk,” said David Hawkins, another co-owner of Lost Weekend. “People are getting tired of sitting at home and having everything fed to them. This is a place to go and wander around. We’ve had people get married from meeting in here.”