Cheryl Laughlin, the owner of Meemz and Pops Country Store in Honeyville serves up an ice cream swirl for a customer on Thursday June 1, 2023.
HONEYVILLE – There is something nostalgic about driving down an old highway and finding an old time country store. Cheryl Laughlin, the owner of Meemz and Pops Country Store in Honeyville, is one of those people. As a young girl her mother stopped by a store like the Honeyville store and they had an ice cream.
She loves the charm of the old stores and tried to bring that charm to Meemz and Pops Country Store at 6990 N. Hwy 38, in Honeyville about 11 miles from Brigham City. The summer store hours are 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Laughlin’s mother would tell her about the experiences she had at a country store where she lived as a child in California. The stores have a certain amount of charm.
“My mother would share stories of the store owner and how he watched over her and her family,” she said. “My mother’s family was poverty stricken. He would sometimes give them food and other things to help them out.”
Laughlin’s mother talked fondly of the store owner Mr. Barnes near Los Angeles. From then on, she tried to support those small-town convenience stores whenever she could.
“Those little stores always made you feel so welcome,” Laughlin said. “I want to give people those same good memories my mother had in this store.”
The store is located near a school bus stop and the students will come and buy treats and snacks. On cold mornings she tries to get there early so the kids have a warm place to wait.
“Sometimes, the kids will pool their money and share what they bought,” she said. “I have a cash drawer with marbles and other trinkets the kids pay with because they don’t have enough money.”
Her goal is to have children feel welcome in the store. The kids come in and sit at a table and solve the problems of their 12- and 13-year-old lives.
The store is a good fit for her and her husband, Bennie Vasquez. They passed by the place years ago and finally the stars and moon came together, and they made an offer to Lainie Mayberry. Mayberry owned the former store for 18 years and it all worked out.
“My husband and I saved money to build a new house, but there was a change in the presidents and building materials went sky high,” Laughlin said. “So the money we had was used to buy the store.”
Laughlin made some changes when she bought it. She began to offer sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade hot soup, chili and other things to quench an appetite. There is soda pop in the different coolers. Local bakers, jam makers and skilled crafters bring in their goods to market.
“We thought we could entice campers from Crystal Hot Springs to use the store,” she said. “They closed their campground so we try to entice others to come.”
The menu changes when Laughlin wants to try something new.
“Yesterday I cooked up some hamburgers and people seemed to like them,” she said. “I didn’t cook very many of them, but it looks like maybe I’ll be cooking more hamburgers.”
She stays away from stocking groceries unless it is something she uses to make her food.
“I stay away from a lot of groceries like dairy because when they don’t sell they go bad,” she said. “I do buy baking supplies, things people may run out of and I can use when I cook.”
Anything she uses in her kitchen she plans to have extra.
“I want to be more consistent with baked goods and fresh treats as summer goes on,” she said. “We will be more consistent with banana nut bread, and other treats.”
Laughlin moved to Brigham City from California with her sister who brought her here 22 years ago. Her husband Bennie was born in Brigham City.
“I love it here,” she said.