Business Spotlight
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The Pop Place, edited by Amy Mertz
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Jeff and Brenda Luitjens have owned and operated a mobile kettle corn stand for the past 14 years. This year, they took the plunge and opened a brick-and-mortar store — The Pop Place — on September 30 at 213 E. Main Street in Mount Horeb. For the Luitjenses, “pop” has a double meaning: They find that small-batch craft sodas are the perfect complement to the crunchy treat they make.
Offering over 450 varieties of soda and several flavors of popcorn, the Luitjenses say they are delighted to be in Mount Horeb. They looked for months in their Dodgeville, WI , but couldn’t find a location with heavy foot traffic and high visibility. In early September, they saw a “for rent” sign in the window of what would become their store. Within three weeks, they opened their doors for business. “We chose Mount Horeb for several reasons,” said Brenda Luitjens. “The downtown is vibrant with lots of people on the sidewalks, the people of Mount Horeb like unique things, and our store has a lot of unique flavors. The downtown merchants are friendly and made us feel welcome from our first day.” Future events at The Pop Place include Sample Sundays and Fizz Focuses. On Sample Sundays, visitors will purchase sample cups to taste-test several varieties of soda. At various times throughout the year, The Pop Place will host a Fizz Focus, when a bottler will visit the store, offer samples and discuss the sodas they make. Notices for these events will be posted at the store and on Facebook at The Pop Place Store. The Pop Place is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store is closed on Wednesdays. |
