Downtown Greenville will soon get a smidge sweeter.
This September, soda pop and candy shop franchise Rocket Fizz plans to move into the former Southern Fried Cotton store, sandwiched between late-night bar Sharkey's Pub and rolled ice cream spot Creme Shack.
The shop will sell over 500 types of sodas from typical root beers to some nontraditional flavors like "Unicorn Yak" and "Dog Drool."
Rows of taffy, nostalgic candies, international candies, chocolate truffles and more will also be available. Beyond snacks, the store will sell signs, magnets and other toys.
Southern Fried Cotton, a t-shirt shop on North Main Street in downtown Greenville, closed in March. Stephanie Mirah/staff
Branden Lisi and Jon Cato, long-time business partners and marketers, decided in 2018 that they wanted to open a business that "was just about making people happy," Lisi said.
They chose Rocket Fizz because they thought it would be a "fun way of connecting with folks and establishing fond memories," he said.
Their first franchise opened in Columbus, Ga., and then in 2021, they opened a Knoxville, Tenn., location. This September, the partners plan to open their third franchise at 118 N. Main St. in Greenville.
Lisi called Greenville a "dynamic downtown," which attracted the duo to choose the Upstate.
"I really liked the town," he said. "I liked the people. I liked the vibe about it. I thought our concept fits in an interesting niche."
The downtown location will employ a manager, one to two assistant managers and eight to 10 staff members.
Rocket Fizz was founded in 2007. Other than the company-owned Ventura, Calif., and Portland, Ore., locations, all other stores are franchises. There are over 80 Rocket Fizz locations and growing in North America with the closest to South Carolina currently being in Asheville.
Main Street has other candy-oriented storefronts like River Street Sweets Savannah's Candy Kitchen on South Main and Kilwins Greenville and Mast General Store, both on North Main.
Southern Fried Cotton, a Clemson-originated merchandise company, announced in March it would close its shop on North Main to refocus its energy on its wholesale operation.
