Fizz Soda Bar closed its doors for good on Sunday.
Fizz was a soda bar that opened in downtown Johnson City in 2015. They were popular for their bottled and fountain craft sodas, hand-mixed beverages, ice cream floats and sparkling coffees. Their menu included both dairy and vegan options, and they used locally sourced ingredients.
The family-owned and ran business announced their closure on social media on Aug. 28.
“About this time four years ago, we began a journey to start a little family owned ice cream and soda shop in downtown JC,” the business shared in Facebook and Instagram posts. “We poured ourselves into sourcing products, coming up with recipes and fun names, completely renovating a physical space, creating branding and building relationships … It’s bittersweet to share with y’all that Fizz will be closing permanently …”
Owner Christopher Todd Pate said the reason for closing is because his family has a lot going on right now, including other jobs. They are currently focusing on other aspects of their lives, and Pate did not want Fizz to become an afterthought or a last priority.
“It’s quite simply that our lives have changed a lot over the past four years, Pate said. “It was a good time to take the opportunity to move on.”
The business was so busy on Saturday, their last day open, that they had to close two hours early because they ran out of everything.
Many of Fizz’s customers were ETSU students because their location was close to campus.
“I think it’s sad,” said ETSU alumni and upcoming graduate student Logan Harris. “I think there needs to be a small business like that, and it’s something that I know a lot of students have come to love, and it’s just sad that it’s not even going to be an option.”
When Fizz first opened, the family put a lot of work into making the physical space aesthetically appealing to customers, especially students. With a retro-style interior, Pate said it was intended to be a place where customers could “sit back and escape the day-to-day.”
“It’s so different than anything else downtown, even Mimi’s [Cookies N’ Creamery],” said Harris. “It makes me think of simpler times.”
Harris said new ETSU students will miss the opportunity Fizz afforded for sweet treats.
“It’s something that only current and past ETSU students would know about it, and I still don’t even think it was as big as it should have been,” Harris said. “No one really knew about it unless you heard word of mouth, but if you talked to somebody that had gone to ETSU, they would ask, ‘Have you been to Fizz?’ just like they would ask you if you’d been to Mimi’s or White Duck Taco. It’s a staple downtown.”
Pate’s goals for Fizz were to be a good community partner, contribute to the community and have a known presence downtown.
“I do think that we’ve accomplished our goal,” Pate said.
Pate said they appreciate the little things, like the relationships and memories they made with their customers. He will never forget the smile they put on the face of a little boy with a lactose intolerance when they first started serving vegan ice cream.
“Those kind of comments and stories are what are really going to resonate with us for a long time,” Pate said.
