Bussiness
Sisters return to Wisconsin to take over business that offers trending ‘dirty sodas’
Dirty Soda might not sound very appetizing but it’s now a nationwide trend that’s making its way into northeastern Wisconsin. Although the first drinks were crafted in Utah in mid-2010, the concept didn’t take off nationally until 2022 when it went viral on TikTok.
A dirty soda concoction can vary greatly, but the main components include fountain sodas with added cream, flavored syrups, and an array of other ingredients. As the trend spreads throughout the Midwest, there are specialty chains and independent owners opening shops. The trend has gotten so big that even Coffee Mate has joined in with the introduction of Dirty Soda Creamer, a creamer that can be poured directly into soda.
But if you ask new business owners Stefanie Danklefsen and Nichola Roberts, they’ll tell you there’s nothing quite like the concoctions that are served at their two shops in Appleton — at 134 E. Northland Ave. and 734 N. Casaloma Drive. The sisters recently purchased Soda Bar, businesses started by Brittney Anderson and a group of partners last year. The timing of the sale was perfect.
“One of the owners was moving to Chicago and he reached out to one of my sisters to see if she wanted to buy his share,” Danklefsen said. “That sister, Alyssa, wasn’t interested but she thought Nichola might be and told her about it. Nichola told the owners she didn’t want to go into business with people she didn’t know, but would be interested in buying them all out.”
That started the ball rolling. Nichola asked Stefanie if she’d be interested in being her business partner. Stefanie agreed, and together they drafted a proposal to purchase.
She said, “All of the partners agreed to sell, and it went really fast. Negotiations started at the end of June, and by August, we were signing papers.”
The business was exactly what Nichola was looking for. She had planned on starting a similar business from scratch in the Hartland area, but after writing a business plan and settling on a location, the deal fell apart.
This new opportunity, once it looked promising, had Nichola and her family moving to Appleton. The area wasn’t new to any of them. The sisters were born in Green Bay and graduated from Preble High School before moving to Utah after graduation to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. (That’s where they first discovered dirty sodas.)
Several months after Nichola relocated to the Fox Valley area, Stefanie and her family followed.
Stefanie said, “We looked forward to moving home closer to family and the business sounded perfect. The sodas were a big thing out west, but whenever we came home, we noticed there weren’t any here. When this came up, my husband, a mechanical engineer, was able to go remote so it didn’t take much convincing for him to move back.”
At the same time, the youngest of Stefanie’s four children was starting school and she felt like she had extra time on her hands. Although she has no prior business experience, she has been working with the previous owners on the software and accounting side. The transition and learning are going well.
“I feel like I know how to work hard. I can just get in there and do what needs to be done. I am one of eight children so I was taught to work at a young age. I had my first job at McDonald’s when I was 14-years-old,” she said.
The focus for the sisters, in addition to working hard, is to make the shops their own. The previous owners all had other jobs, and for Stefanie and Nichola, it will be their entire focus. They say it is their mission to create drinks that truly bring joy to people’s days, and to connect with their customers and make raving fans.
With the concept being new to the area, their only other competition is shops that specialize in other types of drinks.
Stefanie said, “You have coffee shops and places like that, but this is a place where the whole family can come and there is something for everyone. With the number of options that can be crafted, it isn’t boring.”
In addition to dirty sodas, there are cookies and cake pops. There will soon be drinks made with flavored waters instead of soda, gluten-free and low-calorie options, and other snacks. Many of the changes will be rolled out slowly as they “get our feet underneath us and have the day-to-day routine feel like it is second nature.”
That will take some time. This isn’t a small operation. They have a full-time manager who oversees both shops, and about 20 part-time employees. The part-timers, most of whom are still in school, have busy schedules to work around.
“I believe that school activities should come first,” Stefanie said. “We want them to see this as a fun job.”
It’s also fun for Stefanie and Nichola. As they get to know the employees and customers, they said it is fun to talk to everyone and find out what’s going on in their worlds. They are making friends with the regulars and reacquainting themselves with the area. Almost every day is a learning experience.
Stefanie said, “This has been good work and fun, but it is also much more work than I anticipated. I thought, ‘How hard can it be if it is already established?’ But there is a lot more to it. I hadn’t thought about business from an owner’s standpoint before.”
Yet, she says that while a startup offers the owners the flexibility to do everything your way right from the beginning, it is a perk to step into a business that was doing well. The drink sales have been exceptional and their record day meant the sale of 671 drinks. That proves that the community is enjoying the shops.
Much of that can be attributed to the unique varieties. With the start of fall, there are drink flavors like caramel apple and cherry pie. A pumpkin spice variety will likely be next. And, if someone wants to craft their own, the owners and employees are happy to offer suggestions.
Stefanie, despite her limited time as an owner, also has suggestions — hers are for others thinking of starting or buying a business.
She said, “Do your research and know what it entails to run a business. We didn’t do any research, but we’re learning every day. Without that preparation, it has felt overwhelming at times, but I am 100% glad we did this. My days are now full with kid stuff and work stuff and life in general, but it’s full in a good way.”
Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
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