Atlas Obscura

A Roadside Attraction From the Future

Photo (cropped): Carol M. Highsmith/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

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On the road? Thirsty, but not sure for what? Feel like deciding based on color? Then Pops is the place for you! And you won’t have any trouble finding it, thanks to the giant, neon statue of a soda bottle stationed outside.

Established in 2007, the Route 66 restaurant is designed like a classic roadside attraction straight out of the future. The restaurant building itself is designed in an ultra modern style, all angular steel and glass. It is purposefully reminiscent of old-style gas stations (it is also a gas station!) with a large overhang out front that juts over the entrance. Inside, the restaurant is decorated with a huge wall of soda bottles that are stunningly arranged, not by flavor or brand but by color. Pops sells around 700 different kinds of soda and drinks. 

The jewel in Pops’ crown is the massive soda bottle statue standing out front of the restaurant. The 66-foot-tall bottle looks like it’s made of rings of neon, but it is actually lit with LEDs, set into the metal rings. Each night, the bottle lights up in an impressive light show, worthy of Route 66’s sensational heritage. The abstract bottle claims to be the largest in the world, but given that it’s not really able to hold so much as a drop of Coca-Cola, that’s debatable. 

Submitted by Atlas Obscura contributor lucrown1.

For more on Pops, visit Atlas Obscura!

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