Video rental store in Utah in the 80s/90s

January 26, 2021 2:25 PM

Trying to put together a really bespoke birthday present for someone. What local video rental store or regional chain (not a Blockbuster) would he have gone to in the suburbs of Salt Lake City (Layton or Taylorsville) in the 80s or 90s?
posted by Ideal Impulse to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Stokes Brothers was a regional electronics store. I remember looking at the Atari 800 demoing Star Raider with wonder and awe, then going home to my Vic 20.
posted by mecran01 at 3:44 PM on January 26, 2021

Cosmos Video (in Kaysville, next city over from Layton) opened around 1983 and just closed in 2016.

I can't remember specifically any video stores in Layton proper--though there certainly were some, I just can't remember the details--but it certainly would have been a very, very normal thing for someone in Layton to pick something up at Cosmos. It's just a mile or two over from Layton and would be on the way to/from many different destinations for someone living in Layton.

Also, there is a "You know you're from Layton if..." Facebook group, and asking there would be certain to get some responses.
posted by flug at 5:09 PM on January 26, 2021

Another thought--Smith's Food & Drug generally had a pretty extensive video section in the 1980s and 90s, if I recall. And there was a Smith's in Layton at the corner of Fairfield and Gentile. I don't remember exactly when that Smith's was built, but the current Smith's is on the southeast corner and has been there for maybe 15 years. The old one was across the street on the southwest corner and was built somewhere in the late 80s or early 90s if memory serves. I am pretty much 100% sure that one had a video section.

If you're really interested, this history of Smith's Food & Drug talks about the expansion into videos etc in the 1980s. This article talks about the selection of videos in area grocery stores, including Smith's and Albertson's (which if I recall both had stores in Layton or nearby, anyway).
posted by flug at 5:35 PM on January 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

I know there was Video Express in Roy (a bit north of Layton) but I can't remember if it was a chain or not. We used to rent not only video cassettes but the VCR to play them on before we were able to afford our own player.
posted by jenjenc at 7:08 PM on January 26, 2021

It's a little further south in Bountiful, but Top Hat Video is an institution and, charmingly, is still thriving today.
posted by LadyNibbler at 7:57 PM on January 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Im from the area and era and immediately thought of Movie Buffs... local chain, filed for bankruptcy in 98 after a pornography distribution lawsuit, if that rings any bells. I'm not sure that I can link on mobile, but searching 'Movie Buffs Utah stores' will take you to some archived news articles.
posted by cristalina at 9:59 PM on January 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Seconding the improbably-long-lived Top Hat Video or possibly Movie Buffs. I think Jolley’s Corner pharmacy used to offer video rentals as well, but I could be confabulating that one.
posted by armeowda at 11:29 PM on January 26, 2021

Came here to say Movie Buffs. Also, I went to Video Express in both Davis County and West Valley.
And yeah, Smiths and a lot of convenience stores rented videos.
posted by hot_monster at 9:01 PM on January 28, 2021