Movie buffs will be pleased to learn that, on Oct. 28, they will finally be able to rent videos on campus. Tristan English, the owner of Tristan’s Video on 1936 Liacouras Walk, will be opening his doors to film fanatics Friday at 10 a.m.
“I’ve always wanted a video store, and Temple University’s campus was the first which came to mind,” English said. “I knew you needed one here.”
Tristan’s Video will be located in the former Chop Nail Shop. The space has been vacant since last year.
“I think it’s a good idea to have it just because there isn’t one around here. I would definitely make use of it,” said Lindsey Reis, a junior biology major who lives on campus.
For the past two years, English has run a video store on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus called Video Vault. English said he hopes Temple will welcome his store as much as Penn students have enjoyed Video Vault.
Unlike Video Vault, however, English will own and operate Tristan’s Video on his own.
English said he envisions the video store as a positive addition to campus. Currently, English has four employees, including two Temple students, and hopes that employment at the video store will eventually fall under the work-study program.
English said he sees the store as a possible deterrent from student drinking.
“I thought that Temple needed more entertainment on campus,” he said. “This will give the students an extra thing to do on nights, instead of partying.”
Many students who live on campus are excited about the arrival of the new store.
“I think Temple is long overdue for a video store. It will have a prime location and should do very well as long as they have reasonable prices,” said Marc Antonioli, a junior mechanical engineering major.
The video store will accept diamond dollars, and will cost $3 for a two night rental. Each additional two days will cost $3, so there won’t be any late fees.
On opening day, English will run a promotion; rent one, get one free. The store will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight Tuesday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Free memberships will be required in order to rent videos. An established credit card is required to receive a membership. If a patron doesn’t have a credit card, they will have to pay a $50 refundable deposit.
“Students can get their refund back whenever they want it,” English said. “If they need $50 one day, they can come and pick up their deposit, but they will have to put down another deposit before they can rent again.”
Tristan’s Video will initially offer 2,000 tapes and 1,500 DVDs. He said he hopes to build the collection by several hundred each month. The majority of the videos will be new releases, but he said he will eventually stock foreign and independent films.
“With all of the diversity at Temple, they’re going to have a hard time getting movies to please everyone,” Antonioli said. “I’m sure they’ll do better with a bigger selection of indie films.”
English plans to stock all movies required for classes.
“It’s a great idea,” Jason Romano, a junior history major, said. “I have a film class right now and missed one of the movies one week, so conveniently being able to rent it on campus would be really helpful for people who missed class.”
Rebecca C. Carroll can be reached at rcarroll@temple.edu.
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