Friday field trip: Squeak Soda Shop
Friday, July 6, 2012 
The Friday before the Saturday the Waldo Canyon Fire broke out, Megan and I took Bubby and Mac to Squeak Soda Shop. I'd had a visit to Squeak on my Things To Do With the Grandsons list for several months. I'm glad we chose that particular day to go, because the soda fountain is located near where the fire was most furious and likely wasn't open the rest of the time my grandsons were in town.
I had heard great things about Squeak for quite some time, and I wasn't disappointed when we finally made it there.
Squeak is not only filled with confections, it looks like a confection. Located in a strip mall, the interior is filled to the brim with bright colors and award-winning artwork by local artist Tricia Smith. It's a fun and imaginative hangout for kids and kids at heart.
Of course, the sodas and treats within are the real attraction. Squeak boasts more than 60 flavors of custom sodas. Things such as Grandma's Apple Pie, Green Apple, New York Egg Cream, Cherry SqueaKola and more. All sodas are made fresh upon ordering, and customers can choose the color of the soda, as well as their choice of sweetener (pure cane sugar or Splenda). Bubby's choice was Watermelon, Megan ordered Peach, and I got Blueberry. We all tried one another's—and agreed the Watermelon was best.
Squeak offers its sodas in bottles to go, as well as with labels you can design, made from scratch—a great idea for parties or gifts. Other thirst quenchers include floats, flavored milks (using any of the soda flavors) and shaved ice.
The food menu features a variety of paninis, grilled cheese sandwiches, all-beef hot dogs, quesadillas, and "walking tacos." The "Lil Tykes" menu options are grilled cheese, hot dog or quesadilla, all with chips, popcorn or apple sauce (though the popcorn wasn't available during our visit due to an oil shortage, per the counter person), and a mini ice cream for dessert. The Bubble Gum ice cream was a highlight for Bubby—until he realized it had real gum in it and was compelled to spit out each chunk of gum after sucking off the ice cream as "you're not supposed to swallow gum."
The food menu is secondary to the ice cream and candy menu at Squeak, for there is lots of both—especially candy. With more than 50 varieties of candy by the pound plus racks of packaged candy (Pop Rocks, Lollipops and more) plus jar upon jar of candy sticks, it's a candy lover's dream come true. And it's a great bribery tool for moms and grandmoms doing their darnedest to get the kids to eat their lunch if they'd like to choose candy to purchase before heading home.
Bubby and Mac were a bit out of sorts during our visit—I'm pretty sure they'd not yet acclimated to the high altitude, having just arrived from the desert the day before—so we didn't play any of the board games or the Wii available for guests. We also didn't get to purchase any of the advertised "made daily" Cotton Candy because there wasn't any made that day.
We all still had a fun and different lunch at Squeak, though, as the photos of my sweeties show.
Thankfully the "Purveyors of Fizzy Living"—along with most other businesses on the west side of the city, where the fire raged—survived the flames for I'm pretty sure we'll be visiting there again next time the boys visit. Plus, I now have a visit to Squeak on my Things To Do With PawDad list.
Interested in visiting Squeak Soda Shop? Find details here:
Squeak Soda Shop • 812 Village Center Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80919 • (719) 265-4677
Today's question:
When did you last visit an authentic soda shop or soda fountain?
This post has been lined to Mosaic Monday.
Reader Comments (12)
Can you ask Squeak to open up a 2nd location in the Chicago 'burbs? Looks awesome!
Last visit to an authentic soda shop was about 20 years ago before our local soda fountain closed. If there's another one nearby, I'm unaware of it. Our local candy shop just recently closed. We already miss it. I'm also missing 'old fashioned' sno cones with extra squirts from the ice cream truck...not one of those prepackaged icky ones.
Squeak, please?
Have they added a changing table to the restroom or more highchairs? When I visited awhile back, those were my only complaints. Of course my boy was a little young for it that visit.
NonnieKelly: Oh, those ones from the ice cream truck are horrid. And probably dangerous as they always seem like they've melted and refroze (and the cones on the drumsticks are chewy). Blech!
Pammeey: Ah, so this is the place of which you spoke. :o) We didn't use the restroom but there were plenty of high chairs, I think. At least we had no problem getting one for Mac.
SQUEAK! I love Squeak! It's such a fun place. I'm glad it didn't burn down. ;-)
That looks like such fun! I love doing things like that. Gosh, I can't remember my last visit to a soda fountain. Sadly.
I wish we had one of those here, too! What fun! We have tons of local candy stores but none (that I am aware of) that have a real soda fountain. I would just *love* to have a cherry phosphate! Those were my favorite as a little girl growing up. The tiny town I lived in had a drug store with a huge fountain counter and I loved that place! The drug store and its soda fountain are long gone......
What a great place Squeak sounds like to spend time with young kids! Love the pictures.
My last time at a real soda fountain was in a drugstore with a soda fountain section in Raeford, N.C. as a teenager; cherry Cokes were the item of the time, about fifty-five years ago!
Gosh I don't think I have ever been to a soda fountain either. I vaguely remember a soda counter at a drug store when I was a wee tike in a small town close to where I grew up. They had those round swiveling stools to sit on. Don't remember any ice cream but maybe a rootbeer was what I had. Squeak looks so fun!
Cute, cute, cute! And I am not just refering to the ice cream shop! The little boys are adorable and their mommy is beautiful....and yes, the Squeak shop is special too! Wish we had one here, my grand kids would love it!
This looks like a fun place to visit if I am in Colorado Springs in the future. I'm sure my grandsons would love it!
I wish there was one in this area...looks like alot of fun!
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What a fun place to visit and have a soda and lunch. Very colourful. Your grandsons are just adorable. I've never been to a soda shop. How sad is that! There is a soda fountain in a drug store in the city but I've never been to it. Something I need to do this summer! Pamela