Bottoms up for Pops May 5, 2006
Posted by Ron in Attractions, Businesses, Events, People.trackback
About 100 people showed up on a rainy Thursday in a tent on the western edge of Arcadia, Okla., to attend a groundbreaking Thursday for a new gas station on Route 66.
But it’s not going to be just any gas station. It’s going to feature a 66-foot-tall soda bottle festooned with LED lights so a traveler can see it from miles away. The straw stuck into makes it about 80 feet tall. You can see the bottle in an architect’s rendering above.
Walls made of Oklahoma red rock will reach into a rear grove of 66 redbud trees. A 110-by-70-foot canopy – supported by an angular steel-beam structure that is inspired by the historic bridges found along the Mother Road – will stretch out from the front of the building will protect travelers from the elements as they pump fuel (see the drawing above). The interior will house a collection of more than 12,000 soda-pop bottles, along with a full-service grill and soda fountain.
The name of this multimillion-dollar gas station will be Pops.
Instead of digging into the soggy ground with golden shovels, the crowd marked the official start of Pops’ construction by twisting off the caps of their commemorative Jones Soda Co. bottles. Pops is scheduled to open by summer of 2007 and will likely employ 25 to 40 people.
Pops is the brainchild of Aubrey McClendon (above), chairman and CEO of Chesapeake Energy. Pops is a private venture outside his Chesapeake duties. McClendon says Arcadia is “my special spot” because of its natural beauty and added: “I’m pleased to add some life to this road.”
“This started as a gas station in Edmond,” he said. “But I wanted it to be more than that, and I wanted it to be in Arcadia. I wanted to do something distinctive.”
Michael Wallis, author of “Route 66: The Mother Road,” was emcee of the Thursday ceremony and acted as one of the advisers for McClendon’s project. He said he was impressed with McClendon’s commitment.
“I saw his passion,” Wallis said. “I saw his love of history and culture.”
“Pops fulfills the No. 1 criteria of a great Route 66 business: You’ve got to have a gimmick. Boy, do we have the gimmick,” Wallis added, noting the design’s giant pop bottle.
Rand Elliott of Elliott + Associates Architects, who designed the Route 66 Museum in his hometown of Clinton, Okla., also is the designer for Pops. In an emotional moment, Elliott described McClendon as a “friend and client.”
“He has the courage to have a dream and make it happen,” Elliott said.
“It’s not just a gas station,” Arcadia Mayor Marilyn Murrell said. “It’s the next generation of destinations of Arcadia.” She added that the town is renovating the second floor of its city hall so it can be converted into the Arcadia History Museum.
The uncorking of the bottles of high-end soda pop (shown above with Wallis, McClendon, Elliott and Murrell) was an example of the ceremony's mix of first-class accommodations with Joe Sixpack earthiness. Plants from a nearby nursery were lined up to beautify the path to the tent, and DVDs of a three-minute animation of the Pops design were given to members of the media. But instead of high-falutin’ food, McClendon and his handlers had pizzas delivered from a Two Brothers Pizza in Arcadia, along with more bottles of Jones Soda chilled in tubs of ice. And when attendees accidentally tracked in a bit of mud into the tent? Not to worry – it was the good red Oklahoma mud, McClendon said.
That mix of sophistication, along with a blue-collar sensibilities and road schtick, is an encouraging sign for Pops – and the future of the road.
UPDATE: The Oklahoman has a story about the event.
[...] Arcadia has a population of only about 280, but its size belies its significance on the Mother Road. It is home to the historic Arcadia Round Barn, built in 1898. The popular Hillbillee’s restaurant and bed-and-breakfast is in Arcadia. And Pops, a multimillion-dollar convenience store that promises to be a big roadside attraction because of its 66-foot-tall soda bottle, is scheduled to open in Arcadia next year. It’s a picturesque community that likely will grow as Edmond and Oklahoma City sprawl eastward. [...]
this is awsome and so needed way to go arcidia
Arcadia could become somewhat of a Route 66 stopping spot. There are also two wineries planned to be built in the immediate area sometime in the near future, a glass blowing studio just down the road which sometimes allows visitors, etc in addition to the attraction listed above.
66 birthday magic
I started writing this entry last Saturday, November 11. As it was the second Saturday in November, we headed down to the south side of Oklahoma City to Uncle Dan and Aunt Connie’s house for an early Thanksgiving celebration with Mom’s side of the fa…
[...] Sunday, I took a drive on Route 66 to Arcadia, Okla., to check the progress of POPS, the bigger-than-life convenience store envisioned by Chesapeake Energy CEO and Route 66 fan Aubrey [...]
I was on my way for my first visit to the Arcadia Round Barn on Saturday with my family and all of a sudden I see a large Pop bottle in the distance. I instantly knew what it was having read a short piece about it in “Oklahoma Today” magazine. I look forward to visiting Pops once it is open.
[...] Re: Underground Grand Opening Rand Elliott provided the most punch possible for 1.6mil which is a paltry amount of money for the space we’re talking about square footage-wise. It would have been EASY to drop 10 mil plus in there and a million plus on LED Lighting. Rand has used fluorescents with colored filters to great effect on lots of projects, but when the budget will handle it and when it’s right for the job, he will whip out the LEDs as well….. Bottoms up for Pops « Route 66 News [...]
[...] in Businesses, Attractions. trackback Here’s a short documentary about the building of the Pops convenience store on Route 66 in Arcadia, Okla., complete with a 66-foot-tall pop [...]
WHO DO YOU CONTACT ABOUT EMPLOYMENT FOR “POPS”?
This is becoming a pretty neat area and 66 is becoming more popular all the time. I saw some bikers from France a few months ago getting gas in Arcadia. I first noticed that the pathes on their jackets were in French. Then they started speaking French. Pretty cool.
I love the idea, concept and the inspiration of this project. How fun !!!! I will definitely be a visitor and promoter of this fabulous site “Pops”
[...] also has prominent mentions of Route 66 businesses such as the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., and POPS, a distinctive cafe/convenience store in Arcadia, Okla., that’s set to open next [...]
[...] Here are a couple of blog posts from the Route 66 News blog regarding the development of Pops.Bottoms up for Pops (May 2006)Pops Update (November 2006)Raising the Pops Bottle (December 2006)Activity in Arcadia [...]
Two brothers pizza may be good, but after making two trips out to Arcadia, and finding the restaurant closed, or closing 30 minutes before their posted closing time, I won’t go back and I’ll never have the chance to taste it. I actually called during the day to find out what time they would close and was told 8 PM. We arrived around 7:35 and they wouldn’t seat or serve us becuase their definition of closing at 8 means “we leave at 8″…not a way to run a business.
Speaking of Two Brothers pizza……During the middle of unpacking in our new home I called to ask when they closed and was told 8:00PM. I got everyones order and called from 7:35PM until 7:50PM to order several pizza’s. When no one answered I became concerned that something may have happened and drove to the establishment to find the help sitting outside smoking. I asked why they did not answer the phone and was informed they were cleaning up and had shut off the oven.
We just moved here and in the process of unpacking. I drove to Edmond and returned with four pizza’s along with a free one for being new to the city. In the future, I will shop in Edmond.
Our experience there was terrible! We arrived early for lunch (around 10:30) and was told we would have to wait till 11 since the restaurant closes to prepare for lunch. We waited around and observed how unorganized this Pops was. There were people everywhere waiting to be checked out to buy pop, and only 2 registers open. People were leaving in anger because it took 20 minutes to get a pop. It only got worse from that point, we noticed people were giving names for seating. We were not told that or we would have given it them at 10:30 so we wouldn’t have to wait.. We finally got in after a long wait, we were not to happy and ready to walk out. As we were being seated, we were told we would have to sit at a bar, because we were only a party of 3. The manager came over after we were seated at a booth and told us we would have to eat at the bar so we left without eating. We will never return, and I would think twice if you are considering a long trip to pops, it’s not worth the hassle!
I think you three got caught in the first-week jitters there. I’m sure service and efficiency will improve. I don’t know of any restaurant or business that had stellar performance in its first week.
To rip into a business in its very first week — when myriad problems are almost inevitable — is patently unfair.
[...] had passed the POPS construction site several times since groundbreaking began in spring 2006. We had gotten used to the gray giant bottle and superstructure of the canopy over the fuel-pumping [...]
Pops were recently on the news here in Pryor Oklahoma, They said that you could get different kinds of pop and sell it to the public. I drank a drink called Orange Mango made by Fanta I believe, I drank this in Pupua New Gunie several years ago and have been wanting to buy a case of it since can you get this beverage. Wayne
Is your pop made with corn syrup (glucose) or good old sugar?
This is open now. They have all kinds of pop. Even the hard to find kind
“Is your pop made with corn syrup (glucose) or good old sugar?”
With 1400 varieties of soft drinks, there is a wide variety of formulas. I noticed that many are made with cane sugar. The one I picked up was cane sugar. I also picked up some Brazillian Guanana but it says surgar or high fructose corn syrup.
In regards to today’s visit, I did notice Aubrey McClendon walking around with a Chesapeake Energy shirt. I guess he was checking out the place with it full of customers and restaurant guests. As for my opinion of the restaurant, it is to small. The service was marginal at best. I didn’t ever get the salad I ordered and there are NO refills on soft drinks. Like other comments, I will not return to eat here ever again. I will just on occassion bring out a guest to show them the place.
Three Jeers to Aubrey McClendon, This scumbag has purchased a local business just to shut it down so it wouldn’t compete with Pop’s. Hillbillee’s cafe on the opposite side of town was a local favorite and a favorite stop on old Route 66 for lunch. I am a motorcycle tour guide and I will NEVER take my groups into this new eyesore. I take five to seven trips of approximately 25-30 people a year down Old Route 66 and have always enjoyed going to Hillbillee’s for lunch. The food was good (especially the blackberry cobbler), but more importantly it gave my foreign tourists a chance to meet real Americans and talk with them. The last thing we need for route 66 is just another tourist attraction where the only people you may meet are other tourists! Sure Hillbillee’s was an old, run down place but at least it was genuine. Pops is anything but genuine, it’s garish ultra-modern appearance and 66-foot soda bottle seem out of place in the small-town of Arcadia. Aubrey McClendon made a bad move by closing down Hillbillee’s Cafe, he’s eliminated an historic piece of Route 66 and true Americana. All of our company’s guides have agreed to boycott POP’s and will never take our tours there (approx. 280-400 people a year). I would like to call on everyone to boycott this place and send a message to the Billionaire-scumbag that money can’t replace our heritage, BOYCOTT POP’S!
P.S. Aubrey McClendon, you are the worst type of scum on this planet and I hope you loose everything, may you rot in hell!
You’re free to have that opinion, Gary, but I disagree strongly with it. This is one Route 66er who will return to POPS.
And based on the crowds so far, a lot of others already have.
I’ve actually met Aubrey, and he’s a true-blue Route 66ers.
The Braxtons sold Hillbillee’s to Aubrey because of health problems and wishing to retire.
I’ve also heard that Hillbillee’s will reopen eventually as a new incarnation. I’m just not sure what yet.
We are coming to the Round Barn celebration Sunday. Will your
store be open and if so, what hours?
POPS is open from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. Kitchen hours vary, but it serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I’m not too happy with McClendon either. He decided he would go to Pops one day for lunch with some of his people so he had the restaurant shut down for lunch while he was there. One of the employees told me that they were instructed to turn people away. Evidently one couple drove all the way from Tulsa and were told they couldn’t eat because Mr. McClendon was eating there that day. How stupid is that. Is he too good to eat with the common people? He could have turned it into some kind of a PR event. By shutting down Two Brothers and hillbillies he has taken away the only place for the locals to eat. I can’t afford to wait for over an hour for a table on my lunch break.
DF, the 2 Brothers Pizza place is not shut down. Perhaps it wasn’t open for lunch the day you went. But the last few times I’ve been in Arcadia, 2 Brothers Pizza was very much operating and serving customers.
Here’s its Web site:
http://www.chowbaby.com/2BrothersPizza/
As for turning away people, POPS has had to do that several times since it has opened. It seats only 60 people.
Well I will probably hear a backlash for this , but here it goes , I’ve eaten there twice and by no way is it anywhere close to being a diner . I’ll give it to the cook for the first time since it had just opened , but the second was for breakfast , who can screw up an omelete , well that cook was no short order cook . Get a good short order cook and I’ll come back and try again , cause if you want to be a “Route 66′er” that is what you’ll need . Good luck and many years in business .
It is awsome place to visit. The bottle is a magnificant sight. The place was packed with people waiting up to 1hr to get in. Just went inside and looked around. I was to tired to wait in to get in. But I will for sure go again next trip *I hope next year* This California girl got her kicks on ROUTE 66
What a treat to see this building “pop” up right before your eyes while traveling old Route 66. The building itself is enough to get your attention! The pop is just icing on the cake. I must admit though that the prices are pretty steep for a country store.