This seems… doomed. #Broadway pic.twitter.com/jgxWz6bvrt
— unexpectedsparks (@unxpectedsparks) March 22, 2016
It’s a good week for candy lovers on Capitol Hill. Prime commercial space directly across Broadway from the neighborhood’s busy new Capitol Hill Station light rail facility will be home to a retailer that has found a sweet spot somewhere in the gooey center of a mix that includes equal parts Archie McPhee and piles and piles of Pixy Stix sugar.
Rocket Fizz, a candy, toy, and gift shop concept that debuted in Washington last year, is preparing to open on Broadway in retail space part of the Hollywood Lofts development next to Dick’s Drive-in.
Here’s how the Rocket Fizz folks describe their venture:
Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Shops offers one of the largest and craziest selections of glass-bottled soda pops and retro candies for sale in America. We pride ourselves on carrying unique and fun products for people of all ages. When a customer enters a Rocket Fizz store they are visually overwhelmed by the amount of colorful inventory. We work hard to ensure that all Rocket Fizz stores carry a similar selection and present a similar shopping experience. One of the many attributes that make a Rocket Fizz franchise unique is our soda pop bottling operation. We are not just a franchisor. We continue to create and bottle fun soda pop flavors and labels which we supply to all Rocket Fizz franchisees for resale.
You can also expect a candy selection that will give you access to “classics like Necco Wafers, bubble gum cigarettes and Pop Rocks sit alongside trendy green tea Kit Kats and other hard-to-find treats from Japan and Europe.”
Founded in 2009, Rocket Fizz has expanded to locations across the country and opened last fall in Kirkland. We’re checking to see if the same ownership will be involved with the Capitol Hill location. UPDATE: We talked with the owner of the Kirkland shop — she said the Broadway Rocket Fizz will have different owners.
The company has been expanding with a franchise program that encourages owners to “eventually own more than one location and a larger territory.” The City of Seattle treats franchise businesses as larger employers when it comes to its new minimum wage schedule — a change that has resulted in at least one franchise business leaving Broadway last year.
The Hollywood Lofts building, meanwhile, incorporated portions of the masonry furniture store and office building that stood at the site since 1929 to create a six-story, loft-style apartment project named, yes, for the Hollywood Video that operated there until the video chain departed in the dark of night in 2009.
You can learn more at rocketfizz.com.
Why would you lead with a twitter pic that is so negative?
I should have noted — that tweet tipped me off
I live three blocks from here and love me some candy, but yeah, this place is doomed. So doomed.
I worked at that video store in the mid 90’s. The sidewalks were always busy with foot traffic, but there were a lot more nearby businesses and stores across the street back then. The store would probably do better sales if it was a few blocks North.
Is there really that much of a market for junk food like this?
Junkies crave sugar. It’s a win-win.
I love trying new candies.
It’s a franchise, so hopefully somebody asked that question and figured out how much in sales they need daily to make it work, let alone have the working capital to keep things going until they do. People going to or from the underground station is not the same type of foot traffic as a couple of blocks North. Buffalo wing flavored soda is not going to draw people during the day from the restaurants. I can’t imagine they’re counting on the 2:30-3am drunk bar crowd for impulse purchases.
Let’s see….
–1BR apartments that cost $1800/mo
–Restaurants where people spend enough on one person’s meal to feed a small family on a budget for a week
— bars where a hipster might spend as much on one “craft cocktail” as a small family might spend to feed their entire family dinner…
Are we so sure this frivolous store is “doomed”?
I can’t wait!!!! When’s is it opening?! I love sugar!!!
Still can’t believe someone actually thought it was a good idea to name a high-end apartment building after a defunct chain store, let alone one that so few people really miss! The mind boggles.