Summertime is cool drink sipping time. There’s a new beverage buggy on the streets. A mobile soda fountain called Fizz’d Up came from the minds of Oak Parkers Cammie Hunter and Tracie Iannantuoni.
On Facebook the owners, amused with themselves, posted: this is what a midlife crisis looks like.
“All of this all started in late January of this year. I brought the idea to Tracie because we’ve been good friends for many years,” Hunter said. “Our 13-year-old boys have been best friends since they were three. We started poking around Facebook Marketplace to see if there were trailers available. We just decided to pull the trigger.”
Their decked-out drink trailer made its first pours over Memorial Day weekend.
What is dirty soda?
“The creams are what makes the drinks dirty,” Hunter said. “The favorite one, I feel, is coconut cream. We also use vanilla cream, and we use heavy whipping cream to make cold foam. We have a cherry cola drink that has a cheesecake cold foam on it, which has been very popular.”
The base liquids are Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Fanta or root beer. They also serve dirty refreshers, which are made with sparkling water. Dirty energy drinks use Alani, Monster, and Red Bull. There are also lemonade and sugar-free options: Sprite Zero, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper. Syrups provide the zingy flavors like vanilla, lime, salted caramel, cotton candy, cherry, watermelon and more. A selection of sugar-free syrups are available too.
A quick look at the menu and a few options jump out. A “Shark Attack” combines Sprite, lemonade, with blue raspberry, coconut and strawberry syrups. Whipped cream floats on that wave of flavor.
The “OG Remix” is Dr. Pepper, vanilla and lime syrups, topped with coconut cream.
In the energy drink category, the “Electric Sunset” gets Red Bull together with strawberry and raspberry syrups and orange juice.
While there are other local outlets serving dirty sodas these days, what really got the owners invested in the idea was the ability to go where the customers were.
“We are mobile and we want to be where the people are,” Hunter said. “We can pick up and go to different activities. Block parties are a really big thing for us. We have been at some graduation parties as well. And we also plan to pop up around the pools because, they don’t have concessions at the pools anymore. We can be there when you’re thirsty leaving the pool or come out for a quick drink.”
Drink cost in the range of $6 to $8.
“We have some more deluxe dirty sodas, which have whipped cream, gummies, coffee, boba or some other fun elements in it,” she said.
They are making regular stops around town. You can check out the schedule on Fizz’d Up’s social media accounts. You can also book a stop at private events. There is a $30 booking fee and a 25-drink minimum.
So far, so good for these new entrepreneurs.
“Everyone just seems really excited to try it,” she said. “It’s something new that no one’s had. And it’s good flavors and tastes. We’ve had a really great time. Right now, we’re anticipating working through Halloween and then putting it to rest in November and then probably coming back again in May.”