If you’ve ever wanted to drink a soda called Swamp Swill, take a selfie in front of a giant soda statue, or consume the most delicious floats in existence (seriously, dat ice cream will rock your socks off), then Pops is the place to go.
Some friends and I made the excellent decision to road trip over to Pops for the holiday weekend. The estimated drive time is an hour and thirty minutes, but we made it there in an hour and fifteen. If you ever get the urge to do the same, Pops is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. almost every day.
When you finally decide that seeing the real world is preferable to Netflix (I know, I’ll keep dreaming), the first thing you will see is a giant soda statue rising out of the distance.
This shrine to soda expertly mixes modern white with the retro shape of a glass soda bottle, topped off with a ringed structure that really makes you want to climb it. And if that wasn’t enough, it lights up at night.
Yeah, now you’re reaching for those car keys!
But before you leap into your car, let me give you a heads up of what to expect. Half of the inside of the architecturally modern building has been converted into a diner. They have the crispy, skinny fries, too. None of that fat, soggy fry nonsense you get at most restaurants. When you order, I would especially recommend the spicy grilled cheese sandwich, but only if you can handle ghost peppers!
After your meal, forget about how many calories you’ve just consumed and indulge in a float. It doesn’t have to be limited to the delicious, classic root beer float. Remember, this is a place with 700 flavors of soda! Have any float you like!
Plus the vanilla ice cream is to die for. I was informed by one of the waiters that the ice cream is actually the most expensive product Pops buys. So if you want quality, get a float.
When you’re done eating you can head over to the other half of Pops. This is where the magic happens. Shelves upon shelves of soda, all in retro glass bottles. There are the traditional flavors of Coke and Mt Dew right next to novelty flavors such as the Leninade Soviet-Style Soda.
For the braver folk, there are even the SODASGUSTING flavors (I didn’t make that up, it’s on the sign). Personally, I felt safe skipping the Pimple Pop and Swamp Swill.
