About Us

Risque Video started in 1987 as the result of a dare and a challenge. A family friend, who was the owner of a suburban Philadelphia family video store, during a casual conversation with restaurateur Ted Pagano Sr., suggested that running a video store was no small challenge. He suggested that Pagano stick to the restaurant business. But the Paganos are a proud family and the friend's comments were looked upon as a challenge—a challenge that suddenly took on a life of its own.

Joined by his sons, Ted Jr. and Dean, who were then undergraduate students at nearby Villanova University, the three Pagano men set out to prove their good beloved family friend wrong. Ted Sr. owned some real estate in the University City area of West Philadelphia, and the three Paganos decided that a video store would be ideal for their property at 43rd and Chestnut Streets. The neighborhood was and remains a lively eclectic mix of business people, residents, and college students comprised of a wide variety of cultures, origins, and income levels.

But a small fly in the ointment existed. There already was a major video chain store on the property, which was a small neighborhood shopping center. The decision was made to complement, rather than compete with, the chain store. The Paganos were going to open their video store, after all, but one that offered the one thing that the major chain store did not—adult video.

That first store covered just about 1,000 square feet and offered 803 adult titles. But that was then, and now is now. Today, Risque is a very successful enterprise. What started as simply a response to a dare and personal challenge, is now a major industry leader. The original store has grown in size to approximately 4,400 square feet with a rental library of about 10,000 movies. In addition to that, thousands of videos and adult novelty items are sold there. And now there is not one lone store, but a family of six adult video mega stores, serving the Philadelphia and South Jersey areas.

In 1997, the Paganos expanded into the live entertainment industry with the opening of Club Risque, an upscale gentlemen's club in Bristol, a Philadelphia suburb. That club's immediate success soon led to the opening of a second club in 1999, located along the Delaware River on Columbus Boulevard in Philadelphia. The website that you are now viewing, RisqueVideo.com, was launched in 2000. Like the chain, it too will expand, as time goes by.

Why has Risque become so successful and widely respected? Four words answer that question—customer service and selection. The Paganos learned from their restaurant days that if you treat the customer right and provide the very best product, you can't go wrong. They have brought a high level of professionalism and respectability to an industry that was not always known for either. Whether you are a customer of Risque Video, Club Risque, or RisqueVideo.com, you can always depend on being treated right. The Paganos, and their family of dedicated managers and employees, have always practiced, and believed in, the motto: "treat the customer as you would like to be treated."

"Risque continues to grow because we view you as a person we wish to build a lifetime relationship with—as an extended member of our family. We have come a long way since 1987, and we eagerly await the future and invite you to join us in our journey as one of our thousands of satisfied customers and friends."

—Dean Pagano, President and CEO