Video Store Owner Creates 'Christina's Corner' For a Long-Time Customer

Remember how we all used to head to the video store on the weekends to rent the latest movies? Those days are gone, as most video stores have had to close. The last one to close in Pocatello, ID, decided to live on a little bit longer to help a long-time customer.

The owner of Video Stop, David Kraning, had to make the difficult decision to stop video rentals and start liquidating the majority of its collection. However, he is keeping a small portion of movies and created a special corner for them in his adjacent K&B Kwik Stop, mainly for one of his customers, Christina Cavanaugh, and her mom Toni.

Christina is 35 and Has Down Syndrome

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Christina, who came to Video Stop nearly every day with her mother, is 35 and has Down syndrome. She is mostly non-verbal, and going to rent a movie has been an important part of her routine for at least 15 years.

The Video Stop was always their go-to rental store. When other video stores were open, Christina used to tell Toni which rental store she wanted to go to. Christina would say either “Babar” for Video Stop or “Beast” for Great American Video. These names were chosen because of the first videos she saw at each store: “Babar: The Movie” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Christina didn’t understand when the Great American Video closed. “She doesn’t understand things closing,” Toni said. Christina needed to see the actual building, so the two drove to see it. It was heartbreaking to watch her reaction. She was eventually able to move on because she still had Video Stop.

New Employees Would Be Trained to Help Christina

If Video Stop hired a new employee, they would be trained on how to interact with Christina when she was at the checkout counter. “They ask for the phone number on the account, and so she gives it to them, but she goes, ‘2,’ and looks at them, and they have to say, ‘2,’ or she won’t move on, then she’ll go, ‘0.’ They have to repeat it every time, or else it just really throws her,” Toni said. “They’re really, really good to us there.”

Toni did hear that the store would be closing before David Kraning made it official. She didn’t know how she was going to explain it to Christina when it closed. “I think ‘devastated’ is a really good description, because I thought, ‘How am I going to explain this to her? What are we going to do?’ It’s just so much a part of her life,” Toni said.

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The Owner Found a Space

David knew that closing the store would cause stress for Toni and Christina, but he simply couldn’t keep it open any longer. He did, however, come up with a good solution. He was able to find space in the K&B Kwik Stop to create a corner where he could keep videos.

“That area was going unused, and I thought, ‘OK, it wouldn’t be too much terrible work to just retrofit it, put some shelving in there, and move some of the movies over, and just create kind of a mini video store corner for this kid, so she still could have her normal routine that she’s used to,’” David said.

The manager, Jennifer Klassem, shared that Christina is more than just a customer to the staff at K&B Kwik Stop. She feels like she and her mom are family. And family helps one another out, just as David has done with creating a special corner for Christina.

Toni Felt a Huge Weight Was Lifted

Toni feels like a huge weight has been lifted, “It’s huge because it was a really heavy thing weighing on me … and then to find (this) out, it’s like being sentenced to prison and then getting a reprieve. That’s how much relief it was,” she shares.

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Toni was also the one who started calling it, “Christiana’s Corner” and the name is perfect. A little piece of the video store that was such a huge part of her life. Technology may change, and with it, businesses do have to change, but this act of kindness will go a long way in helping Christina, her mom, and the whole community feel loved.

Toni said it best about the kind gesture when she said, “How can your heart not melt when you just see how good they are about taking care of people in their community?”

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” - Galatians 6:2

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h/t: East Idaho News

Featured Image Credit: Facebook/East Idaho News

Julie Provost is a GodUpdates staff writer and editor. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, three boys, and little dog Max. She loves to read, go to the movies, and enjoy time with family and friends.