The Coffman General Store in Veto was once well known in the bustling community that served trains as they pulled into and out of Alabama.

“A lot of local people come by and they tell me, ‘I remember when I was a kid and I used to come here everyday after school and buy a coke or a sandwich or a candy,’” said Mia Alvarez, who is one of the property owners along with David Harwell. “It was a general merchandise store always. They sold everything from tools to ham sandwiches, to clothes to grain, dry goods.”

Harwell is a 5th generation descendent of James Coffman who originally built the first store and family home in the 1800’s. Harwell and Alvarez now live in the family’s home which has moved and was rebuilt after a fire.

“The second store that was built and the house actually burned down and the structure that stands there now is from 1950,” Alvarez said.

Harwell renovated the home in 2011 after they purchased it from other family members who had owned it through the 1900’s.

“They’re both very sturdy buildings. They just needed some TLC,” Alvarez said. “It was more important to invest in it as a family property and to not let it go out of the family … The plan was always to be here. We didn’t really have a plan for the store.”

Just a few years later though, in 2017, he would renovate the store too. They opened it as an airbnb the following year.

“Originally the store was actually on state line road,” Alvarez said. “But, when the train came through town … they moved the store closer to the train station.”

She talked about the charm of the story today and how it has artifacts from the original store. There is a Pepsi mural on the side of the store that says “more bounce to the ounce” that they are seeking to have finished.

It also features a large dry grain bin with four sections and an 8 foot merchants table among other things.

“We have, in the shed and I want to move it to the store, the original glass case that they had in the front of the store for merchandise,” Alvarez said of the future plans for the other artifacts they still want to use.

“It’s not high end anything. It’s all just kind of ordinary furnishings. We’ve just done a lot with the interior design. I’ve done a lot with the artwork and arranged placement of furniture. We redid the bathroom. It’s very rustic but it’s a lot of fun and people love it,” she said.

It attracts all kinds of people. She shared one story where a mother surprised her son with a stay in the store for Christmas.

“The little boy had asked for a trip to Alabama for Christmas,” she said. “It was his Christmas present to come here and go to the space and rocket center and the kids’ museum.”

His mother got a rendering of the store and built a model to put under the Christmas tree to grant his travel wish.

“It’s been wonderful. People come from all over the country specifically to stay in a general store. Very rarely do I have somebody come through who says ‘Oh, I have family in Athens. We’d like to stay there.’ More often than not people come for the experience,” she said.

Today the Veto area of Limestone County retains its history though many people have left.

“There’s so few people in Veto right now. It’s kind of isolated a little bit. So people really have to come off the beaten path to get up here,” Alvarez said.

It sits on the terminus of the Richard Martin Trail so it’s easily accessible for people who want to explore the area. The Veto Methodist Church also sits where the old train station used to be just down the road so there’s plenty of history around.

“The Veto Lodge is pretty much Veto,” Alvarez said.