Author: Courtney Jerome
Some business ventures begin after years full of spreadsheets and making plans. Others happen to spark when the right opportunity falls into place. For Chrystal Methners and her daughter Kylie, opening their second Soda Lounge in Mt. Pleasant was less about strategy and more about seizing the moment—and stepping into the former Downtown Drugs Soda Shoppe.
“It was move-in ready,” shares Chrystal. “We had all of the equipment here mostly. So we were like, it would be silly not to give it a try. Why not?!”
Having encouragement from their existing Soda Lounge customers in Farwell surely sealed the deal.
“I can’t even think of anyone that hasn’t walked through the door and said, ‘You need a location over here. We want you to be here,” says Chrystal of the community’s encouragement, especially after they witnessed first hand all the efforts and renovations the Methners made to make their Farwell location happen this past summer.
Chrystal co-owns the business with her daughter, Kylie, whose background before the Soda Lounge was in construction.
“She has her CDL. She drove a truck. She worked heavy equipment, 80 hours minimum a week,” she shares about her daughter.
Before she could finish her sentence, Kylie completes it: “And now I work in a pretty pink building making sparkly drinks!”
“It’s definitely different than construction,” laughs Kylie, as she’s behind the bar of the Mount Pleasant Soda lounge making the shop’s signature “dirty soda” for a customer.
For the entrepreneurial duo, the soda lounge isn’t just about selling sweet drinks. It’s about creating a family-friendly space that feels different from the typical bar scene—from college students to the elderly alike.
“This is a lounge. We want you to feel like you can lounge,” explains Chrystal, noting recent customers have asked if they can bring in their laptops and stay for a while, which she strongly encourages.
“We heard from someone within the community that people were wanting something more that didn’t involve alcohol,” she shares, “or for people who just don’t go out and drink. So we’re excited to have that space for people.”
“We want you to hang out here and have a safe space,” she continues. “Alcohol is a big part of our social life—it’s a normal thing—but I feel like having spaces that don’t offer alcohol is not as normal. So I’m trying to normalize that.”
Both their Soda Lounge locations in Farwell and Mt. Pleasant reflect that sentiment.
Their original Farwell shop, which opened on June 20, 2025, is loud, colorful, and playful—complete with a disco ball, bright sprinkles on the wall, and is in near proximity to school sports fields which draws in a youthful crowd.
In downtown Mt. Pleasant, Chrystal describes the vibes as more “laid back.”
No matter the location, it’s important to the Methners that their customers have a memorable experience, from the atmosphere to the drinks they serve.
“A lot of our drinks have candy toppers,” says Chrystal. “We have one that’s called Candy Land, and it’s topped with a big thing of cotton candy. Then it has a couple fun marshmallows on it, and then it also has a sucker in the top straw.”
“When a kid sees that, they’re going to remember that,” she continues. “I want that to be a good memory.”
“I feel like the families don’t travel much, and maybe do not experience things like this,” she says. “This is something maybe you would go get in Muskegon or Grand Rapids, or when you’re in Florida on a beach vacation. I’m trying to make this an experience here.”
That experience often comes in the form of the shop’s signature “dirty sodas.” Dirty sodas mix a soda or energy drink base with syrups and cream.
Mount Pleasant Soda Lounge favorites include the Happy Camper (toasted marshmallow and cream) and Buttery Beer (butterscotch and cream, reminiscent of Harry Potter’s butterbeer).
Energy drinks like the fall-themed Witch’s Brew are also in high demand, especially with college students.
With eight employees between both shops, a growing social media following, and even customers driving from Ann Arbor and Big Rapids for their chai, the duo’s soda lounges are quickly becoming destinations.
For Mt. Pleasant, the new soda lounge offers exactly what the community asked for: a space to gather, to treat themselves, and to make memories—no alcohol required.
