Bay Area Bites: What are your bestsellers? What's best for daytime sipping versus nighttime?
Dolson: People like the uncategorized and the unique: cucumber, ouzo, rhubarb, red hot, Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray, butterscotch, and even bug barf. People also shop based on the look of the label, whether it is antique or generic.

Peck: I have to recommend Taylor’s Tonics, Café Azteca and Espresso Cola—-our shop is set up to subtly recommend our product line. Joia all natural soda from Minnesota is more like a fruit drink. Root beer and ginger ale are absolutely the top sellers. We intentionally set up the space so root beer and ginger ale are on different sides. You can see on the weekends how people split, with root beer over there and ginger ale over there.

Dolson: For daytime sipping, some people come here right when we open for Dr. Pepper to start the day. There is Dublin Dr. Pepper, which is special. We bought the last pallet of them.

Bay Area Bites: Are there any sodas that have potential aphrodisiac properties and would good for dates and special occasions like Valentine’s Day?
Peck: There’s Nexcite, which is a Swedish love potion. Love Potion No. 69 also works!

Bay Area Bites: You had a booth at the Fancy Food Show and BAB's Stephanie Hua covered your "Untraditional Sodas." How did the show go? Had you been before?
Peck: We had not gone as exhibitors but had been there as attendees for many years. The show is in our backyard and we talked to a lot of people and had good sales. The natural food products show in Anaheim is our main show.

Fizzary at SF Fancy Food Show. Photo: Stephanie Hua

Bay Area Bites: How do most of your customers find the shop?
Peck: I’ve been surprised at how many people have searched us out. We get 60 percent foot and 40 percent destination shoppers. That’s a testament to food bloggers who wrote about us when we first opened -- everyone came to visit from that. We don’t take anything for granted. We had a national wholesale operation for four years yet our media coverage now is far more than anything during those years.

Bay Area Bites: What is the sugar content of your Taylor’s Tonics?
Peck: All have unrefined organic sugar cane and a small dose of stevia to get the sugar level down and keep the drink to under ten calories. About two years ago it would’ve been 50-50. We have a lot of transition batches in the shop where folks are cycling through and getting sugar used. Our sugar price went up for organic from 60 cents to now a $1.30 a pound, which is a complete reaction to the consumer. We joke that we shot ourselves in the foot. The upside is we are stuck in the same boat with our competitors.

The Fizzary's Sweets. Photo: Aaron Dolson

Bay Area Bites: How do you feel about the proposed soda tax and move against sodas in Richmond, CA and New York state?
Peck: We’re not opposed to it. Soda is a luxury, an indulgence. I drink copious amounts of it. I think the legislation is wisely written to tax over a certain ounce. I don’t believe it should be vilified. It’s an indulgence – when you attack based on sugar and carbonation, just think about some unfiltered apple juice that has more sugar for comparison. The informed consumer is able to enjoy what’s in the shop. We set up our model to be a four pack. At the same time you can’t get a mixed pack like that at Safeway. We’re not so afraid of the legislation. The only time you get more than 12 ounces here, you’re paying for it. We offer sugar free and other options. The legislation changes will affect the corner bodega or Safeway more.

Related Information:
The Fizzary
Address: Map
2949 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(877) 368-4608

fizzaryfizzary

Botanical Sodas, Love Potions at The Fizzary