Copyright cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — These days, anyone with a TikTok account or who is a fan of Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is at least familiar with dirty soda. The trend, popularized in Utah, features a blend of soda, flavored syrups and creams for a decadent spin on the classic soft drink. Nowadays, thanks to social media and the Hulu show, Northeast Ohioans have been able to indulge in the trend, that some local business owners believe isn’t going out of style anytime soon. The dirty soda trend started in Utah due to its large population of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS members adhere to a doctrine that prevents them from drinking alcohol or hot caffeinated drinks. However, they are allowed to indulge in soda, popularizing fun spins on classic flavors. Swig, a dirty soda shop that first opened in Utah, has now expanded to more than 100 locations in the U.S. In Greater Cleveland, there aren’t nearly as many mainstream dirty soda shops as out West, but a few locals have embraced the trend full force. Malley’s Chocolates introduced its dirty soda “Sip Shop” over the summer at its ice cream parlors, featuring sodas like the Doctor’s Orders with Dr. Pepper, cream, coconut and vanilla syrups or the Ocean Potion with Sprite, lemonade and blue raspberry syrup that’s topped with a gummy shark candy. Kati Pederson, a Westlake native, started her mobile soda brand Rockin’ Refreshments in 2023 after noticing the viral trend on TikTok. Six months after its inception, Pederson shipped the 1956 trailer from California back to her hometown to move with her family, and her business really began to blossom. “I went in so fast and full on and have not regretted it since,” she said. While the menu has evolved to include ingredients like popping boba, some of the original recipes that Pederson initially developed at home with friends and family are some of the best sellers. An example is the Highway Star, featuring Dr. Pepper, raspberry syrup and coconut cream. “If you take a soda, a syrup and a cream and mix it, there’s really not a bad concoction,” Pederson said. Pederson credits “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” to “catapulting dirty sodas in a crazy way” into the mainstream. Additionally, the general desire for non-alcoholic drink options that aren’t boring is growing, whether it’s teenagers or adults. It’s an option that’s different from ice cream or coffee that still feels like a fun drink. It’s also endlessly customizable, with caffeine-free and sugar-free options to accommodate various diets. Pederson’s son and a few of his fellow School of Rock alumni formed a band Esoteria that writes and performs their own music at local venues in town. (Hence the mobile shop’s branding — an homage to Cleveland’s rock ‘n roll history and her son’s passions). During his shows, Pederson realized the need for options like dirty sodas for young musicians or sober folks, so she’s working to get her drinks into Greater Cleveland bars. “There’s so many less people drinking alcohol now and [dirty sodas are] just exciting,” she said. Alongside Rockin’ Refreshments, which operates at year-round public and private events, Pederson is a TikTok influencer, with more than 350,000 followers, where she mainly shares dirty soda recipes and teaches other people how to open mobile soda shops. Her influencing job, packed event schedule and other job/life responsibilities mean that Pederson doesn’t have the capacity to look to opening a brick-and-mortar soon, but she’s never saying never to the idea. “Everybody thinks I’m crazy for not opening a storefront yet,” Pederson said. The Sugar Social, formerly Sweets on High, in Wadsworth has also become a dirty soda destination. Owner Lillian Turano originally opened her business as a vintage candy shop, later adding a huge inventory of candies influenced by social media trends. She makes candy in house, like freeze-dried Fruit Roll Ups or crystal candy. She noticed dirty sodas becoming a trend online and went all-in. Back in May, she combined the candy factory with the storefront to create an old-fashioned soda shop. “Instead of doing traditional soda fountain, we went the dirty soda route,” Turano said. The Sugar Social is still rooted in vintage nostalgia. Turano has been restoring a 1950s-era soda fountain to make ice cream and dirty soda floats. She added classic food options like hot pretzels, hot dogs from a vintage roller and complementary popcorn for every dine-in customer. However, the trendy options extend beyond dirty soda, like Dubai chocolate strawberry cups. As for the dirty soda, Sugar Social has 20 base sodas, so it’s easy to “get swept up in the options,” Turano said. The shop has familiar concoctions people might have seen on social media, like the Ruby drink with Dr. Pepper, lime, coconut cream and coconut syrup. Then, there’s more inventive options like the Candy Shop, featuring Sprite, strawberry syrup, popping boba, whipped cream and a big puff of cotton candy on top. Seasonal specials are also always in rotation. “They can be tailored just like a coffee,” Turano explained. “I think dirty sodas are going to be around for a while.” As with many of her best-selling candies, social media has been a huge driver for the Sugar Social’s dirty soda shop. Turano notes how mainstream American culture always depicts someone carrying a drink, whether it’s a Starbucks coffee or an expensive water bottle. For folks who want something fun but aren’t looking for coffee, dirty soda is a crowd-pleasing alternative. “The only regret I have about combining my two shops is not doing it sooner because this has been unbelievable to us,” Turano said. “It’s kind of like having a bar but in a non-alcoholic way.” She sees a wide variety of people, old to young, indulging in the dirty soda trend. Older folks are happy to order chocolate-flavored Coca Cola, which some remember from soda shops of the past. The shop always has old-school, often black-and-white, TV shows playing on the TV to add to the vibe. “They bring their grandkids now and they sit down and have a drink with them,” Turano said. “It’s just been very cool to see families sit at the bar together and just have those moments.” And for the younger generation, they can indulge in trends they might see on social media without having to ask their parents to order things from TikTok shop. Many families have turned it into outings, whether it’s birthday celebrations or a reward for good grades at school. “They can come to the local candy shop and say, ‘Hey, she’s selling the stuff I see on TikTok,’” Turano said. “It’s just a very fun way to connect again.”
