Cinema Cellar opens first permanent Toronto location on John Street this Friday

Film collectors have a new permanent destination. Cinema Cellar opens its first brick-and-mortar location Friday, October 16, at 129 John Street in the Entertainment District, marking the first permanent Canadian retail home for the Criterion Collection.

The store is an extension of Blue Fox Canada and acquired the location from Unobstructed View Entertainment. Cinema Cellar traces its roots to pop-up appearances at TIFF 2024 and a collaboration with Criterion on the Criterion Mobile Closet at TIFF 2025. This year, the venture rebranded as Cinema Cellar and now has a permanent home.

The 20-seat storefront carries new releases, cult classics, and Criterion Collection titles, alongside partners Arrow Video and Elevation Pictures. Arrow Video titles include the Stranger Things box set. Criterion merchandise — sweatshirts, T-shirts, tote bags — occupies the store's back half. The shop also stocks vinyl from artists like Nirvana and The Band.

Cinema Cellar President Dave Hudacok said that physical media represents more than nostalgia. "It's the permanency of it, the collectability, the representation of you. If you love a certain film, when you walk into your living room, and you have it on your shelf, it's a way to identify or express yourself."

The opening coincides with National Video Store Day on October 17. Cinema Cellar plans community events, special signings, and gatherings for Toronto's film community. An in-store signing with filmmaker Sophy Romvari, director of Blue Heron (a film about a Hungarian-Canadian family adapting to Vancouver Island life in the late 1990s), is already scheduled.

Hudacok's goal is to open more permanent locations across Canada. The company targets both longtime collectors and newcomers discovering physical media as an alternative to streaming.