A brief history of video stores, fast-forwarded: The video rental market boomed with the advent of the VCR in the 1980s, and by 1988 it was a $6 billion industry, with some 25,000 video stores operating in the United States.

Big chains such as Blockbuster gobbled up many mom-and-pop shops in the '90s, and by 2004, the industry giant had around 9,100 stores in the U.S. (Blockbuster is a hot property for nostalgia now, but in its day, it was largely seen as an evil monolith responsible for decimating small businesses and homogenizing the industry.)

Then along came Netflix, whose DVD-by-mail business streamlined the video rental experience, and Redbox DVD kiosks started showing up in grocery stores, allowing customers to rent videos from a touch screen after picking up ingredients for dinner. Perusing the aisles of video stores was out, convenience was in.

Then along came streaming — who needs a video store when you have one built into your TV? — and whatever video stores remained began closing en masse.

But Video Exclusive remains. The store still signs up 10 to 20 new customers a week, Konja says, many from the Downriver area; memberships are free and require a driver's license and a credit card. New customers can take out up to four movies at a time, established customers can rent up to nine. New releases are $3 each, or three for $7.50, and can be rented for two days; older titles are $2 and can be kept for five days. Late fees are a buck per day.

Where 50-60 copies of a hot new release were once common — it was over 100 for "Jurassic Park," Konja remembers — now it's less than 10; the store ordered seven copies of the Jason Statham-starring "The Beekeeper," which was released in April, and five copies of the Academy Award-winning "Poor Things." After three weeks, those used copies are made available for purchase for customers.

Catalog titles rent well, especially from the store's extensive horror section, which makes sense given the types of physical media obsessives still frequenting video stores in 2024. (Just from the "M" shelves in the store's horror section, there's "Murderlust," "Murder Party," "Murder Rock," "Murder-Set-Pieces" and "Murder Weapon.")

The store maintains extensive anime, documentary, foreign and TV sections, as well as a pro wrestling section that includes most, if not all, of the WrestleManias. The store's computer still runs on a simple DOS-based operating system that a fifth-grader could learn, Konja says.

The adult section is what is not-so-secretly keeping Video Exclusive afloat: Konja says up to 60% of the store's sales come from the back room, which is separated from the rest of the store by a thin red curtain. Konja, who also owns several area Adam & Eve stores, has branched out into selling sex toys and other adult novelty items to help keep the store going.

"That pays the bills," Konja says. "Without that, we wouldn't be able to have all this other stuff."

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