Thank God the Varick Street Fire Didn’t Damage TNT Video

***WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.***

Utica experienced a jolt on November 30th when a fire engulfed the former HK Restaurant and Lounge, located at 703 Varick Street. Investigations into the origin of the blaze are still ongoing.

Those familiar with Varick Street know that just two buildings over sits a bizarre, forgotten time capsule: an abandoned video rental store with dozens of VHS tapes still in the window.

Personally, I'm fascinated with this building, so I'm glad no harm came to it.

If you walk past the storefront and take a moment to peak through the window, you might be shocked to see what's still in there: Everything! Seemingly everything you'd need to run a VHS rental store in 2023 is completely intact: The '90s-era desktop computer, advertising signage, and dozens and dozens of VHS tapes still on the shelves-- sun-bleached from years of dormancy.

With how rowdy Varick Street gets at times, I'm actually sort of shocked nobody has broken into this place yet. With the number of VHS tapes, there's gotta be a small fortune in there! (Like... very small. Like, nickels.)

I've got a lot of questions: Who owns the building? Why wasn't it ever cleaned out? Do you think those tapes would still play? Do you think that computer would boot up? And do you think it would still show that I owe late fees from 1996?!

Be kind, rewind, and check out more pictures of TNT Video below: