Since moving to the city more than a year ago, Dowagiac’s Tom and Nancye Kitchell have become a regular sight at local video rental stores.

The couple would visit either Dowagiac’s Movies, Movies or Video Land nearly every weekend, looking for some cool new releases or old favorites to watch during their down time.

When they were told several months ago that Video Land was for sale and could possibly close its doors for good, the two wasted little time, springing into action to keep the business going, they said.

A little more than a month later, the business, now called Mom and Pop Video, remains open to movie lovers, with the new owners committed to keeping the video rental store going.

“It has been fun,” Nancye said about her and Tom’s experience since taking over the store. “We have met a lot of nice people in the community through the store.”

Tom, an employee with Gast Manufacturing in Benton Harbor, and Nancye, a real estate agent, moved to Dowagiac about a year and half ago from Benton Harbor.

“We love it here,” Nancye said. “We have a beautiful downtown, and everyone here is so friendly.”

Officially taking over the store Oct. 3, this is the first time that the two have owned a video rental store, though Tom once operated his own drywall installation business years ago, they said. The two continue to work at their other jobs as well, operating the video store in the afternoons.

Since taking over, the owners have made several major changes to the shop, including expanding the amount of movies available on shelves, they said.

In addition to releases of new films and TV shows on DVD and Blu-Ray every Tuesday, the store also has an extensive library of more than 1,000 movies, Tom said.

In addition, the store offers rentals for Xbox and other game consoles.

The owners are offering discounts for customers who rent several movies at a time, with deals for both new and old releases. They are also offering a special deal on Mondays, giving out free popcorn to customers who rent two or more new releases.

One of the biggest things Tom and Nancye are committed to is listening to customer needs, they said. They have already expanded their selection of TV shows based on feedback, and are looking into stocking more westerns and even foreign language films based on customer comments, Nancye said.

“You get that personal touch here you cannot get with Netflix,” Tom said. “You can come out to the store, say hi to the staff and ask questions.”

The store is located in the C. Wimberley Plaza building, on M-51. The store is open from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.