Popdod, a customizable soda shop located in Highland Village, opened to the public on Sept. 5. I visited their store on a few weeks later to see what the new business is bringing to the community.
As far as the menu, the shop delivers exactly what it promises. There are many syrups to choose from, which can then be added to various bases, including sodas, energy drinks, lemonade, iced tea and cold-brew coffee. This puts an interesting twist on popular drinks.
The menu also includes 20 popular combinations of syrups and bases recommended by the owners. I tried three of these suggestions: the Jungle Juice (Sprite, coconut syrup and mango syrup), the Manhattan (Coca-Cola, cranberry syrup and raspberry puree) and the Bushwacker (Coca-Cola, cinnamon, cherry syrup and grenadine syrup). Overall, it was hard to taste the syrups, but the drinks still tasted great.
As far as food, Popdod has partnered with The Flour Shop to offer customers various cookies and pastries. We ordered their eureka nuggets, which are four cookie dough bites covered in chocolate. The sweetness of the eureka nuggets mixed with the sugary soda was slightly overwhelming. While their advertising does not promise any savory options, there are chips for those who like to combine salty and sweet.
There was a lack of seating, but they have chairs on the way since it’s a new business. The store was very clean and well-kept, and the service was excellent, with friendly and helpful staff. Additionally, our order was delivered extremely fast – we only had to wait for about two minutes for our food and drinks to arrive.
The sizes range between 16 oz and 44 oz, and the drinks cost anywhere from $1.15 to $4.50 depending on the size you order and what you put in it. While this might be a little bit more than those at places like Sonic, the new soda shop offers exactly what is expected with a wide range of drinks and sweet treats.