The name Video Center Reno screams “movie night,” but inside this business at 2145 Sutro St #7, there’s so much more. Customers can send money to another country, buy a phone, pick up a soccer jersey, pay their water bill, get over the counter medication and even score tickets to a local show.
And to think, it all started by accident.
Originally from Mexico, where they ran a business, Guillermo Padilla and his wife, Araceli, had relocated to Fontana, California. In 1998, during a vacation in Reno, they stopped for tacos at Tacos El Rey, a small spot right across the street that is still there today. As they ate, something caught their eye, a ‘for sale’ sign just across the way. Curious, they decided to check it out.
What they found, in Guillermo’s words, was a certain look “muy solito, muy feo” (very lonely, very ugly).
Yet, something about it stuck with them. Guillermo had taken a business card from the owner and one day back in Fontana, had made a call saying they wanted it.
In the beginning, it was just Guillermo, Araceli, and their daughters doing everything themselves. Their eldest daughter, Melissa, practically grew up in the store.
“I would sleep here sometimes,” Melissa recalls. “I’d go to school and come right back and spend the rest of the day here.”
Fast forward nearly three decades, and Video Center Reno has outlasted Blockbuster, survived the rise of Netflix, weathered the pandemic and has expanded far beyond its original purpose.
The Video Center of 1998 looked very different from today’s version. It started as a music and movie rental shop, but over the years has adapted, because it had to. And yet, the name has never changed.
Guillermo laughed, admitting they had debated renaming the store for years but ultimately decided to keep it.
“At this point, everyone knows Video Center Reno. Even if they’re not coming in for a movie, the name is part of who we are.”
Now, Video Center Reno is a one stop shop for bill payments, money transfers, prepaid phones, and more. Even over the counter Hispanic medicines that are staples in many Latino households, like Viro-Grip, and Tukol D. They also offer phone activations with AT&T, Verizon, and Cricket making it easy for customers to set up new service or buy unlocked phones.
It is still a family business at its core. Guillermo, Araceli, and Melissa all work there along with a couple of employees. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We invite you to come in,” Guillermo says. “Everyone has a bill to pay right? We take them all, electric, water, rent. Need to send money home? We have Western Union and other options. Want to buy a phone? We activate them right here. And if you love soccer, we have jerseys, shoes, and balls.”
It’s a family, a legacy, and a place that no matter how much it changes will always feel like home. So if you’re ever in need of services, Video Center has got you covered. And if you’re hungry afterward? Well, Tacos El Rey is right across the street.
Our Town Reno reporting by Genevy Machuca