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In an era of inventive flavor combos and increasingly rebellious food mashups, a new popsicle shop from Atlanta is poised to introduce Savannahians to the next best thing since banana pudding — the banana puddin’ pop.
The King of Pops held its soft opening Wednesday at a shaded spot along Drayton Street across from Forsyth Park, an unassuming cart with rainbow umbrella and chalkboard sign.
The setup may be simple, but the flavors are fun. Wednesday’s selection included chocolate sea salt, blackberry mojito, banana puddin’ and blood orange basil with flecks of basil leaves frozen
inside.
Ryan Giannoni, general manager of the Savannah branch, said they expect to be open in a retail location on Tybee Island, across from Sunrise Restaurant on Butler Avenue, within the month. Meanwhile, their mobile popsicle cart will make appearances all over downtown Savannah this summer.
While the city forbids most street vending, Giannoni said they are allowed to vend on private property, away from the sidewalk, with a business license and tax ID. Exotic popsicle seekers can follow them on Twitter at KingOfPopsSAV to find out where exactly they’ll be.
Right now, the handmade organic pops are being shipped from their Charleston kitchen and are sold at Whole Foods across the southeast. He said they planned to be at River Street festivals as well as outdoor concerts, Sand Gnats games, area farmers markets and Southbound Brewing Company on Saturdays.
Beer and pops? Why not.
“We try to do something really funky. It’s not just your yellow banana popsicle,” said Giannoni. “We experiment; we have over 300 flavors.”
Giannoni said some of those flavors will likely make appearances at their upcoming retail location on Tybee, including such crowd-pleasers as Arnold Palmer, creamy avocado, thai coconut and a pineapple habanero spicy pop.
Pops are $2.50 each and use all organic ingredients, many sourced from farmers markets — except for the Oreos in the Oreo cheesecake pop, of course.
The company was started by Steven Carse, who after being laid off from his corporate job at AIG in 2008 decided to get into the popsicle business, enlisting the help of his lawyer brother Nick and other family members and close friends.
Since then, the company has grown with retail locations in Atlanta, Athens, Charleston, Chattanooga, Greenville and Richmond, attracting a loyal following among foodies who want to know what a cereal milk or Herbes de Provence lemonade pop actually tastes like.
Giannoni said the combination of sunny weather and a large college population make Savannah a logical choice for expansion.
“It’s the perfect place, it’s beautiful, it’s a lot like Charleston and we’ve had great success there,” said Giannoni.
From locally sourcing ingredients to experimenting with new flavors, Giannoni said customers will appreciate the effort that goes into these gourmet popsicles.
“We put a lot of time into this,” said Giannoni. “We don’t cut any corners whatsoever. There are definitely a lot cheaper ways to make a popsicle, but we’re going for quality.”
FIND A POP
King of Pops is currently operating across Forsyth Park on Drayton near Savannah Law School. Popsicles are $2.50. More info at kingofpops.net or on Twitter @KingOfPopsSAV.