Couple hopes to bring new flare to historic store
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REXBURG — A local couple is taking a historic store and revamping it.
Aubree and Richard Mason, known as Bree and Bud, are the new owners of the Archer General Store.
“Aubree is always coming up with different ideas for our next flip or our next renovation. She’s been talking about this store for a while and so when it became available, she was very excited,” co-owner Richard Mason says.
“We’re actually going to call it White Sparrow Country Store,” Aubree adds. “We’ve never done something like the General Store, so we just decided to take it on.”
The two say they want to retain the General Store business located at 7875 South 1800 West but add a rustic farmhouse twist.
“We hope to open up the ceiling so that we have the exposed rafters and we want to paint it. I know there’s another metal roof here so we’ve got to open it up and see what’s up there,” Aubree says.
The Masons have done many renovations and are excited to add their aesthetic touch. Aubree sees a lot of brightness and white in the store’s near future.
“It will be a mix of country and modern. We definitely want to keep the old store kind of feel,” Aubree says. “I don’t want to take that away from the community.”
In the past few decades, the building has played many roles including a post office, gas station, burger joint, hardware store and pizza parlor.
The Masons feel they can offer the community more stability.
“We’re also excited because we own the building and the attached apartments. I think it’s going to be something that is always going to be cash flow positive, so we’ll be able to keep the store open in the community for a really long time,” Richard says.
Richard says the store is going to offer more than in the past. They will sell a variety of merchandise like tackle and bait, animal feed, work gloves, hardware and more. The locals want to cater to farmers and locals who live in the country. They also want to add old-fashioned ice cream and flavored sodas to the mix.
The Masons will begin renovations in January and are looking forward to a grand opening in the spring. They also plan on bringing a southern surprise — a reminder from Richard’s hometown in Oklahoma.
People can see the design style on Instagram and take a look at what the store has the potential to look like.
“I think they’ll get really excited when they see her style is a farmhouse and a lot of white colors mixed with wood stain,” Richard says. “It’ll be really pretty when we’re done.”