The Dark Room, Bellingen

The Dark Room in Bellingen is an ode to times gone by – a time when VHS tapes, DVDs, film cameras and Walkmans were all the rage. Now a thriving community space thanks to owners Laura Gonzalez and Cam Shenfield, The Dark Room is a breath of fresh air steeped in a heady dose of nostalgia – and you’re invited to join the club.

 

Blockbuster, Video Ezy and Civic Video – there’s no denying that going to a DVD rental store on a Friday night was one of the best ways to start the weekend. The car trip to the store, the anticipation of picking a new movie, browsing through the huge room lined with light blue shelves – each title with its own special spot. And then the final act – taking your chosen movies to the counter, selecting a few snacks to share with your family while you waited for the clerk to retrieve the disc from their massive library, and then heading home to snuggle up on the couch – let movie night commence. But that was then, and this is now – a world where we can have virtually any movie we want to watch at our fingertips within seconds, all thanks to streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Binge. And with that, sadly, we switched the Civic Video experience for half-heartedly browsing on the sofa, and nostalgia was thrown out the window. Or was it?

Enter The Dark Room in Bellingen – a place where you can relive all of your nostalgic dreams and get back in touch with a slower world. But this space isn’t just a DVD store – far from it. The Dark Room has been completely reimagined thanks to its new owners Cam Shenfield and Laura Gonzalez, who saved it from closing down permanently. Here’s their story and their vision for the store’s future. Lights, camera, action.

Act one

Before meeting Laura, Cam lived in Bellingen. A long-standing member of the previous video store, Cam was devastated when he heard that it would be closing its doors.

“When Cam learned that the video store was about to close, he couldn’t stop talking about it. He asked me what we could do to help, and I told him I didn’t know because I wasn’t sure we could do anything. Then he took me there, and we looked at the space together. We were so excited. We were like, ‘Okay, we can do this!’” Laura says.

It was love at first sight when Laura stepped into the store – she could instantly see why Cam adored the place so much and was sad to see it closing. “I had this vision of what the space would look like, and it became so much clearer when we moved the 25,000 titles we purchased into boxes, shuffled the shelves and moved things around – but we weren’t prepared for what we saw.

“It’s such a huge space! There was even a fireplace hiding there. It was then that we realised it was going to take much longer than one month of renovations to get this place back up and running, and the business was probably going to look a lot different to what we first thought.”

Act two

Oozing speakeasy vibes, The Dark Room is located on Hyde Street, Bellingen’s main drag. Walk through the hallway to the video store and feel like you’re part of a shared secret. Step through its door and be greeted by beautiful light boxes showcasing some of the pair’s favourite films, a massive 180-inch screen framed by black walls, racks full of DVDs on one side of the room and shelves displaying vintage cameras and film photography accessories on the other.

But the star of the show? The bar. “We made it so the bar is kind of the focal point. During the day we have toasties and some snacks available. We serve something that’s called the Big Bang – it’s not a pie and it’s not a quiche, but it’s somewhere in between – and it has everything, which is where it got its name from.”

“We’re talking salami, mozzarella, pecorino, ricotta, roasted capsicum, sausage, ham and real puff pastry using Pepe Saya cultured butter that we make at the bakery – and it’s been a huge hit. I envisioned all the food from The Dark Room to be snack food-friendly – but really good snack food – the kind you want to eat with your hands.”

Well, you don’t have to tell us twice. Open from Wednesday 11am – 5pm, Wednesday to Saturday from 1pm – 9pm and Sunday from 1pm – 5pm, The Dark Room is open for business and you can get your hands on your very own Big Bang.

But what’s with the late closing times, you ask? Well, movie nights of course.

The schedule

“From Thursday to Saturday, we host movie nights, and fortnightly Comedy and Music on Wednesdays, Thursday is Member’s Night, – but not really, because anyone can join. That’s just the name we chose for it. We take requests and have specials on our toasties and popcorn, and then each Thursday, a different member picks a movie to watch. If they feel brave enough, they can present it to the group, too.”

Held in honour of the previous owner Rod, who would host Thursday movie nights every week, Cam and Laura decided to keep to schedule. “Rod picked the movie for our first Thursday movie night – it was amazing. Then, on the first Wednesday of every month we host open mic night, and on the third Wednesday of every month, it’s live music all the way.”

Now that just leaves Friday and Saturday. So what can we expect? “Friday movie nights are reserved for fun movies – it’s informal, entertaining and the perfect way to end your week. Saturdays are for challenging the crowd a bit – introducing them to an arthouse movie or something that we want to push to see what people think and how they react. But be sure you check out what’s on, because we have a revolving line of events that will be popping up on different nights of the week.”

Intermission

Enter the pintxos and tapas snack bar, which could also be referred to as a full-blown experience. If you know Laura or have visited Peach & Wolf Family Bakery in Coffs Harbour, you’ll know that her dedication to creating delicious pastries can be tasted in every bite.

Now imagine those pastries were Spanish-inspired, and then imagine snacking on them while watching one of your favourite movies on a big screen, surrounded by your favourite people. Sounds awesome, right? Well, you can.

Open from Friday to Saturday from 6pm, The Dark Room’s pintxos and tapas snack bar has a range of delicious pintxos available for purchase. Take your pick.

Act three

But that’s not all The Dark Room has to offer. From Wednesday to Saturday, Cam and Laura have also organised community workshops and events – from drawing classes to art and coming soon film photography workshops (coming soon), comedy and live music nights, the duo behind The Dark Room are looking forward to hosting a whole stack of creative workshops and events in their new space.

“The idea is to have classes available for both adults and kids. We want to be able to provide something that helps get kids off their phones and onto analogue or even very primitive digital. We want to help them explore the arts and become interested in photography and the world around them.”

What’s on?

Stay up to date with The Dark Room’s events by checking out the store’s Instagram and website. You can also become a member for just $60 a year and receive unlimited DVD hire plus two discounted tickets to any of their events. PS – If you don’t have a DVD player, Cam and Laura have you covered with some available in the store. Winning.

Suite 2, 87 Hyde Street | Bellingen NSW 2454 | Website | Instagram | Photography by Sunspell