He Saved 200 Movies So She Wouldn’t Lose Her Favorite Place

David Kraning had finally decided to close his family’s video rental store in Pocatello, Idaho. After more than 30 years in business, Video Stop was losing money, and he couldn’t afford to keep it open any longer. But there was one customer he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Her name was Christina Cavanaugh. She was 35 years old, had Down syndrome, and had been coming to the store with her mother, Toni, for more than 15 years. Renting a movie was one of her favorite things to do, and David knew how much she looked forward to those visits.

He couldn’t save the business. But he started wondering whether he could save that part of Christina’s life.

She Called the Store Babar

Christina communicates mostly without speaking, but she has her own ways of letting people know what she wants. For years, she identified local video stores by the movies she associated with them.

Video Stop was Babar, named after an animated movie she’d rented there. Another store, Great American Video, was Beast, after Beauty and the Beast.

When Great American Video closed, Toni tried explaining what had happened. She even drove Christina back to the building and showed her the locked doors. But Christina still wanted to go inside, and her mother found it heartbreaking to watch.

Thankfully, Video Stop was still there. Christina could browse the shelves, choose a DVD, and take it to the counter just as she’d always done.

The employees knew her well enough to understand the little details of her routine. When Christina gave them the phone number associated with the family’s rental account, she expected the clerk to repeat each digit after her. If she said two, the clerk said two. Only then would she move on to the next number.

New employees were taught how to do this. They understood that Christina liked handling the transaction herself, and they made sure she could.

The Last Video Store in Town Was Closing

David’s father had started the rental business back in the 1980s, when families regularly visited video stores to choose something to watch. David grew up around the business and eventually bought it from his father in 2016.

By then, the industry had changed completely. Streaming services had replaced weekly trips to the rental counter for most households, and keeping a building full of DVDs was becoming increasingly expensive.

David held on longer than the other rental stores in Pocatello, but by early 2025, even Video Stop had reached its limit. He announced that rentals would end on February 1 and began preparing to sell off the collection.

Toni had known the closure was coming, although she’d kept hoping the shop might somehow survive another year. She remembered how difficult it had been when the previous store closed and dreaded going through that experience again with her daughter.

David understood her concern. He and his employees had known Christina for years, and they considered her and Toni part of the family.

He Found Room for 200 Movies Next Door

David also owned K & B Kwik Stop, a convenience store right beside the video shop. Inside was an unused space that had originally been intended for deli storage.

About a week before Video Stop closed, he came up with a plan. He cleared out the corner, brought over some shelving, and started moving DVDs from the old store.

He selected around 200 movies, including 50 Disney classics and 150 other popular titles. Among them were some of Christina’s favorites: Mulan, Hercules, and Pinocchio.

The corner would operate like a tiny video rental shop. Customers could still select a DVD, bring it to the register, and pay to rent it. David planned to keep it available for Christina and a handful of other longtime customers. An employee suggested calling the new section Christina’s Corner, and the name stuck.

David hadn’t told Toni what he was planning. He wanted to have everything ready before showing her.

Her Mother Could Barely Thank Him

When Toni finally saw the shelves inside the convenience store, she was overwhelmed. She had spent weeks worrying about how to tell her daughter that Video Stop was gone. Now she was standing in front of a smaller version that Christina could still visit.

Toni later told The Washington Post that she cried so hard she could barely thank David. What made the gesture especially touching was that David was dealing with the closure of his own family’s longtime business. He had spent years trying to keep it alive and was now selling most of its inventory because the bills had become too much.

Yet in the middle of all that work, he had taken the time to rearrange part of his other store for a customer who loved renting movies. Jennifer Klassen, the convenience store’s manager, explained that Christina and Toni had become like family to the employees. They knew their visits, understood how Christina communicated, and enjoyed having them around.

Christina Could Still Choose Her Own Movie

After the original store closed, Christina continued visiting the new rental corner with her mother. The collection was smaller, but she could still walk up to the shelves and select something to take home.

There was a funny detail to the arrangement. Toni said the family already owned many of the same Disney movies Christina liked to rent. But Christina preferred watching them when they came from the video store.

By April 2025, CBS News was reporting that she was still coming in around 3:30 in the afternoon, choosing a movie and completing the checkout herself.

The rental cost was $1.05. Christina could hand over the money, take her DVD, and head home with Toni. The staff continued giving her the time and attention she’d become accustomed to over the years.

And before leaving, Christina had one more part of her familiar routine. She would reach across the counter and gently touch the clerk’s hand.

It was her way of saying thank you.