Rocket Fizz: The Bev Game Has Corporate Sponsorship

Greetings, fellow connoisseurs! On Sunday, March 20th, I ventured to Rocket Fizz in downtown Portland. Fresh off my escapade to John's Marketplace,  there are many distinctions between the two locations. Firstly, Rocket Fizz is much more family-oriented and kid-friendly, as they only sell sodas, candy, sweets, and novelty items. It is also located in the heart of downtown, making it a popular place to find foreign bev. More importantly, there is a campy, goofy element to the interior design. The color scheme was all over the place, mixing and matching various colors to create an eclectic feeling. This was another similarity to John's Marketplace, whose variety of beverages made for a colorful palette. To touch on the interior design again, Rocket Fizz makes use of many novelty items. From cut-outs of superhero characters, to the gag soda flavors they had on display, Rocket Fizz almost feels like the quirky kid of John's Marketplace. 

During my excursion, I purchased three quality items: a Twix Cookies and Creme bar, a pack of Japanese strawberry gummies, and a Dr. Brown's Celery Soda beverage. The Twix Cookies and Creme bar and strawberry candies were magnificent. The Twix bar in particular was very special, as I had literally never seen this type of Twix product in any store. I have to say that the Celery Soda was quite awful. It had an almost medicine taste to it, but without the sugary sweetness that usually comes with a Dr Brown's soda. The cream soda and black cherry soda were both staples of my childhood, and honestly, played a contributing role in sparking my interest in connoisseurship. Consequently, the fact that this celery soda tasted bad was unfortunate. 

In terms of my experience at the store, I went with a friend, which made the journey much more entertaining. We each were pointing to specific bevs and candies that interested us, and talked about what kinds of flavors we personally enjoyed. Going by myself would have made the experience at Rocket Fizz much less appealing and interesting, as my intention was to have conversation and interactions about items and connoisseurship. My friend was a fellow connoisseur, as they pointed out many speciality items that I had never heard of. I was humbled and grateful to be educated on candy and bevs that I had never seen or tried. I also had a pleasant interaction with the clerk, who was maybe only a few years older than me. We complimented each other's tattoos, and I asked them if they had tried any of the items I was purchasing. They had tried both the Twix bar, and the Celery Soda, and gave rave reviews for both. This interaction with the clerk definitely made my experience even more lively, who clearly cared about their job and showed a real interest in the products at Rocket Fizz.

Having said that, there was something cold and disconnected about the downtown Rocket Fizz location. While I think this was partially influenced by my prior knowledge of Rocket Fizz being a nationwide chain, what really struck me was how the customers were interacting with each other and the store. Many of the customers were parents/guardians with their children, and I couldn't help but notice that the parents were mostly on their phones while their children would browse. There was something sad about that, as if the parents had lost their sense of wonder and connoisseurship. I couldn't help but be reminded of the concept of the third place. While disputed amongst many scholars, a third place is generally understood as a location--whether physical or digital--that is outside the confines of work and home, where people gather to share knowledge, information, and culture with each other. The distinct separation between customers, predicated on the usage of their phones, created a disconnection from Rocket Fizz acting as a third place. While my friend and I were interacting and sharing our personal tastes, only a handful of customers were doing the same. This is not to sound holier-than-thou or on my high horse; it's not like I never went on my phone in my whole trip to Rocket Fizz (I had to take pictures of products, of course). I just had noticed this and felt it necessary to acknowledge all of that.  Maybe I just went on the wrong day. 

In comparison to my experience at John's Marketplace, there was less connection between myself and the clerk. I guess the Rocket Fizz clerk and I had similar interests in that we both had tattoos, but that was about it. Meanwhile, the John's Marketplace clerk was also a fan of Iron Maiden, the band whose beer I ended up purchasing, as well as heavy metal in general. There was so much excitement on both of our faces when we discussed Iron Maiden for a second and how the beer was actually a popular item because of its taste. I did not have this same experience at Rocket Fizz. I think also the fact that John's Marketplace makes better use of their Instagram page, and the affordances that the platform offers, helps in their more unique and friendly aesthetic.  Having that knowledge of their Instagram page and the layout of the store I think helped in making my experience at John's more comfortable than the journey to Rocket Fizz. 

Anyways, I have yet to find my third location, but this time I want to find a smaller, local, and maybe even family-owned location that specializes in connoisseurship. I also have considered going to a niche bar of sorts to gain a different perspective on location. I have a feeling this third location will be very spicy. Bigger and better things to come!
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