One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Rocket Fizz: Candy-coated Nostalgia
Last summer a riot of neon notified Burbank that there was a new store in town and it was all about fun! Rocket Fizz is here to bring back the candy and sodas of childhood, as well as hard-to-find local products. They even have a wide assortment of obscure diet sodas.
Partners Jack Cross, whose career in the field of body shops shows in his retro design, and pizza shop owner Luke Jacobeli have created a wonderland of nostalgia. Customers wander around exclaiming, "No way!" "I haven't seen this since I was a kid!" "They have apple Abba Zabbas!" Really, did you even know they had apple Abba Zabbas?
Cross and Jacobeli chose Burbank as their store location because in many ways Burbank is a retro town, with its ancient shops, Googie signage, and of course Bob's Big Boy. There is a patio in the back on which to enjoy your drinks and chocolate cigarettes, and they are planning to start showing B Movies there, something to foster a sense of community in the neighborhood. Rocket Fizz is open from 11am to 9pm weekdays and 10pm on weekends, but sometimes they are open even later, which saved a certain LAister from an uncertain fate last Christmas Eve.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
