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Newton market provides refreshment and friendship By
Marie Griffin Bep's Country Market is the only nearby means the town's 659 residents have of getting their day-to-day supplies. Becky Griffin, the store's manager, says since its opening in the late 1930s the store has become the "main drag between Preston and Salt Lake City or Smithfield and Tremonton" for truckers. "If you come in, be prepared to be happy and chit chat," she says. The store, located at 10 E. Main, started as a meat market, with the late William Barker as property owner and manager. People brought their meat to the market, where it was wrapped and stored in lockers. By the 1940s the place had grown into a mercantile that sold items like guns, red wagons, material, boots and food. "It was like Little House on the Prairie,˛ Griffin says. Over the years the market transformed from a mercantile to a café to a woodshop, then into the country store it is today. Bepšs has four food aisles that run between 4-foot stacks of rough, wooden shelves. Sherri Barker, a cashier and Newton resident, says, "We try to keep the basics on hand. The country market features items like canned food, milk and bread, as well as drinks and candy. A concession stand in the back offers hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and nachos. Video rental is also available. Youth come in after school to make use of the storešs television and VCR. "They relax and watch movies or play Nintendo," Barker says. A small-town market makes making friends a little easier for people like Barker. "I'm getting to [know everyone]. The regulars come in every day and want the same things," she says, referring to one man who always wants warm beer. "Itšs your traditional, little country store." Griffin's nickname while growing up was Bep, so that's where the store got its name. She and her husband Cleon purchased it on Dec. 11, 2001. Griffin considers the market a family business, but says she is fulfilling part of a dream. She has always wanted to own a business she "could be relaxed with and not stress too much over." She wants to eventually turn the market back into a mercantile that sells material and tools, as well as food, she said. "Meeting new people and associating with the public has helped me realize how good people are," Griffin said.
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