Travelers Make Pit Stop at POPS

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

ARCADIA, Oklahoma -- As thousands of Oklahomans make their way out of town this thanksgiving weekend, others are heading into the sooner state.

POPS, a soda Mecca of sorts, has only been open for about a year and already it's a hit with tourists.

The signature bottle could be seen for miles, beckoning to drivers like a lighthouse. Many of them sought a reprieve from the sea of cars this holiday weekend.

"We saw the sing," visitor Jan Gregg said. "We went to the Website last night and decided to check it out."

Gregg said POPS was worth the detour off Interstate 35. Greg Timm would agree. He drove from California to see his friend Joe and POPS was his first stop.

"I loved it," Timm said. "It was pretty cool. I haven't seen that many sodas in a long time."

Some of the 600 bottles on display triggered memories for Utah resident Susan Easton.

"You grow up and that was the thing," Easton said. "You come and see those bottles against and it was great fun."

And judging from today's crowd, it'll be a long time before this tourist attraction goes flat.

The manager of POPS said he's seen a surge in foot traffic especially Wednesday, with quite a few of those visitors coming from surrounding states.