PRESTON – Drive-through pop shops are not only gaining in popularity across Cache Valley and Utah, but they are spreading across the country.
Scott and Lyndsay Madsen took an oversized shed, modified it and placed it in Preston’s Stokes Market parking lot and turned it into a drive-up soda shop about 10 years ago.
Cars line up at House of Pop in Preston to get a cold drink on Wednesday Oct.29, 2025.
Madsen’s House of Pop opened in 2015 in Preston, a place where customers could get a dirty soda without leaving their car.
A dirty soda can be a variety of sodas that add cream and different flavors to change the taste.
Today there are three House of Pop locations, the original one is still in Preston, there is one in Garden City and one in Smithfield, they all have different owners.
Andrea and Jed Palmer purchased the House of Pop in Preston from Madsen’s. There is always a line of people waiting to get a drink.
“It very definitely does well,” Palmer said. “I can’t take the credit for its success; I give the credit to Scott and Lindsay Madsen who started it.”
House of Pop has some 40 flavored sodas people can order from the large menu posted by the drive-in window.
“We played around with different recipes until we thought something tasted appealing,” Madsen said. “We tried to give the mixes names we thought people would enjoy.”
They also offer cookies and other treats people can get with their drinks.
The tip jar at House of Pop in Preston is an indication of one day of service on Wednesday Oct.29, 2025.
“Scott’s cousin had a pop shop in Ephraim and talked us into going down there to check it out,” Madsen said. “They were in a college town, but the city was about the same size as Preston. So, we decided to give it a try.”
She said the people of Preston were good to support them. Scott’s family was from Preston, and they were well thought of so that helped.
Madsen said there is something about moms dropping their kids somewhere and pulling up to a drive-in window and getting their soda fix fast.
“If you have a bunch of kids in the car and need a soda fix the drive through is a great way to go,” she said. “A soda shop is an easy place to go you don’t have to get out of your car. You drop your kids off and go for a drink without getting out of your car. It’s a simple pleasure.”
During the winter they serve hot chocolate, coffee, and cappuccino for cold winter days.
Scot and Nicole don’t depend on House of Pop to for they livelihood. Nicole works an assistant volleyball coach for one of the high schools in the valley and Scott has a construction business.
The pop shop idea was hatched in St. George. A couple, Nicole and her husband Todd Tanner, were trying to come up with a way to get a drink without going through the line at a fast-food restaurant.
They also didn’t want to get out of their car and drop in at a convenience store for a drink. All they wanted was a quick drink and get on with their day.
The Tanners started the pop shop Swig in St George in 2010. The Swig in Providence was established in 2019, a counter person told Cache Valley Daily.
The names of the drinks served at House of Pop in Preston give customers a choice of drinks on Wednesday Oct.29, 2025.
Swig was successful and became the model for other pops shops in the state. As of June this year, Swig had locations in 15 states, and the majority owner today of Swig is the Larry H. Miller Company.
There are soda shops located from Hyrum to Preston – from family-owned, stand alone shops to ones that can be found all over the state – all counting on people who want a quick pop fix on a warm day with cookies or hot drink in the winter.