[citation needed] The store was opened in 1988 on Latona Avenue in the Ravenna neighborhood by Rebecca and George Latsios as well as John McCullough.

[4][5] From the beginning the store was known as a welcome, open place for film lovers to find rare titles and be greeted by Latsios's trademark "Hello, my friend.

[7] Celebrity patrons are rumored to include Quentin Tarantino, Bridget Fonda, Courtney Love, Winona Ryder, Directors John Woo and Bernardo Bertolucci, and legendary film critic Roger Ebert.

[8][better source needed] Scarecrow Video reopened under new ownership as a non-profit, preserving "one of the world's largest publicly available libraries of film and television".

[9][better source needed] The store began offering DVD-by-mail services across the United States in 2021 for non-rare titles after a successful trial during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[12] In June 2024, the Scarecrow Project announced another fundraising drive to allow the store to sign a new lease to remain at its University District location.