Where food tells a story and farmers are rock stars
‘Walking the walk’ for more than a decade
December 13, 2023
APPLETON – Lime in Da Coconut, Shark Bait and Summer Days may all sound like the kind of drinks one would buy while vacationing in a much warmer climate than Wisconsin – especially now when temperatures are barely reaching 30 degrees – but, in fact, folks can get all of them while sitting in their car.
Soda Bar, located at 134 E. Northland Ave., opened in Appleton this summer – the first of its kind in the Fox Cities area.
The business provides – you guessed it – specialty sodas, or, what co-owner Rod Richardson said they call “dirty sodas” on the West Coast.
“It’s basically a base soda with adding whatever flavor and creams and different things,” Ryan Allred, co-owner of Soda Bar, said.
Though both Richardson and Allred said they moved to the Fox Cities area from the West Coast some time back, they didn’t meet one another until they were introduced by mutual friends.
Soon after, the pair said their shared longing for specialty soda beverages would lead to them opening a business together.
“(We) thought it would be good to have one here because we missed having them,” Allred said.
Many of the specialty soda locations out west had indoor seating for customers, which Richardson and Allred said was what they were originally aiming for – however, finding a location to set up shop in Appleton proved to be difficult.
“We couldn’t find a location that had the drive-thru and indoor space, and decided the drive-thru in this location was the best available and open,” Allred said.
By June 1, the owners had their LLC formed and the lease signed on the building.
The menu
Once the business and location were secured, Richardson said the fun part came – creating the menu.
“We started experimenting with our own recipes,” he said.
One of Soda Bar’s most popular drinks, Allred said, is Shark Bait – which uses Sprite as the base and then adds blue raspberry flavoring, and is topped with a gummy shark.
“The other popular one is Dr. McDreamy, which is a Dr Pepper or Diet Dr Pepper base soda, and then it’s got coconut, strawberry, vanilla and half and half in it.”
Other drinks available at Soda Bar include Lime in Da Coconut, which is made up of Diet Coke/Coke Zero/Pepsi Zero with sugar-free coconut, fresh lime and coconut cream; and Big Foot, which is Mug Root Beer with vanilla and toasted marshmallow.
For non-soda lovers, Soda Bar also offers options with lemonade, Monster and specialty hot cocoa drinks.
Richardson said the establishment also has sugar-free options, where customers can make the soda “as healthy” as they’d like.
“We can go with straight soda, like just soda water,” he said. “We can also go with straight water and customers can add whatever flavors to them.”
Soda Bar customers are also able to customize their carbonated beverage as much as they wish – above and beyond the menu item staples.
Soda Bar opened this summer at 134 E Northland Ave. Photo Courtesy of Soda Bar
During the summer months, Richardson said customers also have the option to use the walk-up window.
Giving back to the community
Soda Bar highlights people who serve the community using the #sodabarattitudeforgratitude hashtag throughout its Facebook page – an idea Allred said came from his wife, Amelia.
“It’s given us a good way to connect with other small business owners and collaborate more and highlight people,” Richardson said.
Allred shared in his sentiment.
“It’s good to recognize people in the community and, around that, do a lot for the community in a lot of different capacities,” he said. “(We recognize) there’s a lot that makes a community function.”
Previous highlights have included teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters.
On the day a person from the community is highlighted, anyone who works in that sector/industry who buys a drink at Soda Bar will get one for free.
Richardson said the campaign also helps highlight other businesses that need help.
“One of the areas we highlighted was the rural fire and ambulance services,” he said. “In those small communities, those people are suffering for volunteers. So, campaigns like #sodabarattitudeofgratitude helped us highlight or emphasize those people.”
On top of highlighting businesses in the community, Allred said collaborating with other small businesses is also important to Soda Bar.
“We partner with The Main Celebration, which does a lot with small businesses as well,” he said. “It’s been good to work with those small businesses and be a part of the (Fox Cities) Chamber.”
Customer response
When Soda Bar first opened, Allred said business was “really strong,” but said it has naturally simmered some as it’s become colder.
Though overall, Allred said the community response has been “pretty good.”
“It’s different, something that’s a good alternative to coffee or a good alternative to alcohol,” he said. “And it’s something they can experiment with and get their joy in a cup for the day in a different way.”
Eventually, Allred and Richardson said they would love to have multiple locations across Northeast Wisconsin.
“In a year, we’d love to have a couple up toward Green Bay and Neenah,” Allred said.
Soda Bar is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
To view the full menu, visit Soda Bar’s Facebook page.
