If you build it, they will come
We dropped in on the new POPS convenience store/restaurant/tourist trap in Arcadia about 6:30 p.m. Sunday and almost didn’t find a parking spot. The place was packed, and it took a couple circles around the lot before we found a space.
My wife and I were astounded by the size of the crowd, but perhaps we shouldn’t have been. The debut of POPS with its distinctive soda bottle out front and architecture has been long awaited by area residents.
It’s sort of an “if you build it they will come” scenario, with some Route 66 nostalgia thrown in for good measure.
We hoped to sample a burger at the POPS restaurant, but it turned out that the booths were full and the waiting line was long.
So, we decided instead to try a soda from POPS’ massive “soda ranch,” which promises 400-plus flavors of sugar water. I wanted a Grape Nehi, or whatever is the modern-day equivalent.
Turned out their whole cooler was empty, wiped out from massive crowds that flocked to the new mecca of the Mother Road over the weekend.
So, we wandered around the store for a few minutes, took a few snapshots and then hit the road for the (short) trip home. We look forward to giving it another try on a night when there won’t be such a crowd, like mid-week or something.
By the way, POPS has a Web site as unique as the store itself, and also has a big presence on the state tourism site, Oklatravelnet. Check out the interviews with POPS management and with architect Rand Elliot.
Jim Stafford
Business News reporter
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