First ‘Dirty Soda’ Shop Opens in Maple Grove
Chilly winter days don’t normally call for cold drinks, but tell that to everyone who packed into Sota on a December afternoon.
“It’s just insane to see [all the customers] because a lot of people don’t really know about this store yet, and I feel like there’s new people every day and it’s insanely busy, but it’s a good thing,” said Sadie Opskar, a Sota employee.
The big draw to this new Maple Grove shop is a beverage concept known by many as “dirty soda.”
“Every day we try a new flavor,” said Natalia Merrifield, a Sota customer. “So far this one’s actually really good. This is the Mountain Dew one.”
Another customer with a different drink concurred.
“I really, really like it — it’s basically Dr. Pepper mixed with ice cream,” said Hadley Poston.
The 1979 flavor consists of Coca-Cola, vanilla, coconut cream and fresh lime.
For those uninitiated with the concept, you take your favorite soft drink, mix in some cream, add a couple shots of flavored syrup and you have yourself a dirty soda.
“I feel like I’m tasting the color blue,” Poston said as she took a sip of a drink called “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”
The idea for Sota came to owner Chad Taylor after he visited family out west and witnessed the popularity of dirty soda shops.
“Every single year we’d see these places backed up in the drive-through and people were just thrilled to be going to them and I thought ‘gosh, somebody’s gonna do that here, right?'” Taylor said. “And eventually my wife was like, ‘maybe you should do that here.'”
From Food Truck to Standalone Store
Taylor initially started with a food truck in April, but it didn’t take long before word spread and lines started to grow.
“It went from sometimes sitting a whole hour before anybody would come up to the food truck, by the end of the season having 30 or 40 people in line all day long,” he said.
Taylor then opened the physical shop (located at 13630 Grove Drive in Maple Grove) on Dec. 6.
The menu consists of drinks with names such as “Stacy’s Mom,” “California Love,” and “Barbie Girl.” If some of those sound familiar, it’s because every item is named after a 90s song.
The menu at Sota consists of drinks named (mostly) after songs from the 90s. The most popular flavor is “Stacy’s Mom.”
“My wife and I are both from the 90s, and I’m just a big music head, so I landed on this pretty quick,” said Taylor. “Some of my favorites up here, obviously. ‘Stacy’s Mom’ like I mentioned before. That really makes people giggle, they just get a kick out of that.”
Even in the dog days of winter, there’s something about a sugary drink that keeps people coming back.
“Just really grateful for people who are coming out who love it, and it makes their day and that makes our day,” Taylor said.
Prices range between $3 to $5, depending on the size of your drink.
Meanwhile, Sota hopes to expand to other locations across the metro.
