(This article was written as part of a new contest sponsored by Stafford County Economic Development during the 2026 Stafford County Fair. Entrants were tasked with taking a photo of a Stafford County business owner and then writing two paragraphs about the business. I also turned in a short version of this story to fit the contest parameters, but I wrote this feature-length story after enjoying my interview with all the girls and their moms. After all, I am a feature writer/reporter at heart.)
A Facebook post on May 3
provided the first inkling that something new was coming to 111 West Broadway
in downtown Stafford:
6 girls.
3 sets of sisters.
Lots of ideas.
We can’t wait to share
more with you soon.
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| From the Pop Shop Facebook page |
The first of those ideas
was realized when those six girls – and their moms – opened the Trojan Pop Shop
on May 16 for the first time. The girls are Paisley and Bristol Byer, Rylee and
Reagan Ferguson and Braxie and Emersyn Lopez. Their moms are Julie Byer, Holly
Ferguson and Stacie Lopez. The shop offers drinks, dirty sodas, snow cones and
ice cream. That may sound simple. But the menu gets more complex all the time
as the girls brainstorm new drinks and tasty treats.
Mom Julie Byer admits she
hoped they’d sell six drinks a day. They had 200 cups when they first opened for
business, and they figured they’d last a week … maybe even the whole month.
They barely made it through the first day. The moms were on a grocery run for
additional supplies after only a couple of hours. By the end of the day, they’d
been back to the store three times.
Stafford had shown up for
these budding entrepreneurs. And they continue to show up. On June 13, the Pop
Shop celebrated its 1,000th transaction with confetti. By July 11,
they were nearing their 2,000th transaction and were already trying
to come up with a way to celebrate another milestone. They purposefully set
their prices much more economically than the big-name drink shops. They wanted
to build repeat customers through competitive pricing, and the strategy has
paid off with high traffic during pool hours, through drink runs from local
businesses, during the lunch hour, after work and for after-dinner treats.
The idea originated with
the moms, who all work together at Stafford County Hospital.
“These girls have
basically grown up with one another,” Julie said. “They’re like family.”
Holly said that jobs for
teenagers – especially those younger than 16 – aren’t readily available. Rylee
had been a lifeguard at the Stafford Pool before and there were the inevitable
babysitting jobs. But all the girls wanted a different summer job – a “fun
summer job,” Braxie adds.
The building at 111 West
Broadway was already set up for food service with a serving counter and
seating. The location in the heart of downtown Stafford was ideal. The moms saw
a pathway to employment, and the girls bought into the idea. The owner of the
building generously allows them to use the building rent-free. The Pop Shop
pays for its own utilities.
There’s a lot that goes on
behind the scenes before it’s time to open a business, the girls learned. They
went through the Serve Safe certification program to learn how to safely handle
food and ingredients. They were inspected by the Kansas Department of
Agriculture food inspectors before they could open their doors. They all had to
learn the point-of-sale computer system.
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| Trojan Ice Cream Nachos - photo from their Facebook page |
But there were fun parts,
too. They brainstormed drink ideas. To give customers inspiration for drink
creations, the girls each had signature drinks on the menu when they opened:
Bristol (Crazy Coconut), Paisley (Electric Wave), Reagan (Orange Oasis), Rylee
(Classic), Braxie (Pink Paradise) and Emersyn (Trojan Punch). And the
brainstorming continues. The girls have dreamed up new drinks to tie to other
things happening in Stafford. When the Ritz Theatre brought in “Toy Story” and “Minions
and Monsters,” the girls came up with additional drinks unique to several of
the main movie characters, like Jessie’s Roundup, To Infinity and Beyond and
Kevin’s Banana Split. Similarly, there
was a slurry of new red, white and blue creations during the 4th of
July weekend.
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| From their FB page - one of their 4th of July specials |
“We like tying the drinks
to things happening around town,” Stacie said. “It helps both us and the other business.”
Similarly, they’ve brought
in several different food trucks on Saturdays. Customers come and get a meal at
the food truck and then visit the Trojan Pop Shop for drinks, snow cones and
ice cream treats. They have food trucks scheduled for the first four Saturdays
of August.
“Every food truck we’ve
cooperated with has sold out by mid-afternoon,” Julie said. Those days also
bring more money to the Trojan Pop Shop till.
The girls are giving back
to the community with those proceeds. Their ice cream machine had been used in
the Stafford USD 349’s concession stand. At the end of the summer, a percentage
of each ice cream cone sale will go to Stafford’s after-school STAR program. By
July 10, they’d sold 600 cones.
There’s another piece of
the community behind the counter. A mint green milkshake blender that had been
used in the Curtis Café now whirs up ice cream treats for their customers, so
there’s a bit of nostalgia for older Pop Shop customers. The girls prefer it to
the newer machine beside it. However, after the first week, they did add a
modern electric lemon squeezer to the kitchen arsenal to make their
fresh-squeezed lemonades.
The girls are learning
more than even their moms imagined. They are hands-on with inventory, ordering,
counting the money, customer service and advertising through social media.
Soon-to-be eighth grader Emersyn Lopez writes the pay checks and pays the bills
by check.
These are busy young women,
each with their own extracurricular activities, ranging from volleyball,
basketball, cheerleading, trap shooting, 4-H, driver’s education classes … the
list goes on and on. But since some of the girls are in middle school and some
are in high school, they’ve juggled the schedule so that at least three of them
are on staff during their business hours: 11 AM to 6 PM on Wednesdays and
Thursdays and 1 to 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.
The moms are working at
the hospital, so the girls are on their own the majority of the time serving
customers. During their weekly four-day run, they go through 16 gallons of ice
cream base, countless bottles of flavored syrups and creamers, as well as a
rainbow of mini M&Ms, nuts, cookie crumbs and more.
When school starts, the
Trojan Pop Shop will take a hiatus. But every girl says they want the job again
next summer. They plan on being open during Stafford’s Oktoberfest and may find
some other open weekends for a “pop-up” customer experience advertised through
social media.
Bristol says she’s been
amazed at the wide range of ages who frequent the shop. Paisley says the
experience has helped her learn to stay calm – even when a line of customers
forms. Reagan, Rylee and Braxie have been amazed at the faithfulness of the
customers, especially those who show up almost every day to support them. And
Emerson may be the most honest, when she says her favorite part is getting
paid.
The moms have seen growth,
too. Like the good friends they are, they spoke together, adding onto the ways
they’ve seen their daughters grow this summer.
“Of course, sisters have
their moments – probably more with their own sibling than with their friends.
But they’ve even grown up this summer with their sibling relationships. They’ve
had to work together and rely on one another. They’ve learned what being an
entrepreneur and being self-employed means. They’ve learned about customer
service and communication skills, about revenue vs. expenses and about paying
taxes. They formed an LLC and each has their own bank account. They’ve been
forced to problem-solve when they run out of ingredients or something doesn’t
work. They have taken giant steps towards adult life.”
None of the girls think
that a career slinging drinks or making ice cream cones is their ultimate job
goal. But they can see that their experience would make them a qualified
barista or part-time café employee in a college town for a little extra money. And
being an entrepreneur on some level is among the options at least one of them
is considering as they move toward adulthood.
