King of Pops
King of Pops is an Atlanta-based popsicle company. It was established by brothers Steven and Nick Carse, and is based out of the Atlanta neighborhood of Inman Park.[1] The business operates 40 pushcarts and two customized ice cream trucks,[1] and has retail branches in Athens, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, Nashville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina, among other places.[2] The company plans to expand to Alpharetta, Georgia in the near future.[3]
History[edit]
The company was established in 2010[1] by Steven and Nick Carse. Steven Carse decided to start the business when he was laid off from his job as an analyst at AIG in 2009.[2][4] Nick has said that when his brother got laid off "it was the final impetus" to start King of Pops.[1] In April 2010, Carse began his business by selling frozen treats with a pushcart at a gas station.[5]
King of Pops business consists of carts, catering and wholesale. Product can be found in many high-end delis, urban markets and Whole Foods Market. They also have a window shop on their headquarter in Inman Park, Atlanta. In 2015, they started selling their pops at Turner Field during the Atlanta Braves home games. In addition, the company began selling their pops at First Tennessee Park during the Nashville Sounds home games in 2018. [6]
Amongst their most popular pop flavors are Chocolate Sea Salt, Raspberry Lime, Cookies n' Cream, Banana Puddin', Orange Basil and Strawberry Lemonade.
In 2012, the company launched "Tree Elves", a business in which they and their employees delivered potted Christmas trees to customers dressed as elves, and then after the holidays they pick them up and take it to their Farm King of Crops for compost.[7][8] In 2014, the company purchased a 68-acre farm in Douglasville, Georgia, where they intend to grow ingredients needed for their pops such as, according to Creative Loafing, "mint, basil, lemongrass, ginger, berries and melons".[9]
In 2015, Dad's Garage Theatre Company produced King of Pops: The Post Apocalyptic Musical, a fictionalized version of Steven Carse's story featuring battles between rival food trucks. The show was written by Mike Schatz and directed by Tom Rittenhouse.[10]
Flavors[edit]
Year Round Flavors:
-Raspberry Lime
-Strawberry Lemonade
-Blackberry Ginger Lemonade
-Blueberry Lemonade
-Chocolate Sea Salt
-Cookies n' Cream
-Orange Cream
-Thai Iced Tea
-Banana Puddin'
-Strawberries n' Cream
Spring Season:
-Fresh Peach
-Blood Orange
-Sweet Tea n' Lemonade
-Mexican Chocolate
Summer Season:
-Pineapple Habanero
-Peaches n' Cream
-Banana Caramel
Autumn Season:
-Pear Vanilla
-Orange Basil
-Blueberry Cobbler
Winter Season:
-Apple Cider
-Salted Caramel
-White Chocolate Peppermint
-Chocolate Orange
-Maple Brown Sugar
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Green, Josh (9 March 2013). "Local brothers become kings of the popsicle world". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ a b Caldwell, Carla (10 April 2014). "King of Pops expands to Savannah, Tybee". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ "King of Pops BAR, Biscuit Love to open in The Daily in Alpharetta". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2017-07-24. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
- ^ "Frozen Assets: Ice Pops Become Sweet Trend". CBS News. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ Woodson, Joy L. (26 April 2012). "All Hail the Popsicle". Patch Media. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ "Sounds and Centerplate Announce New Menu Items for 2018 Season".
- ^ Prann, Elizabeth (22 December 2012). "King of Pops Founders turn into elves to keep business going during winter". Fox News. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ Cooper, Carly (28 February 2013). "What's next for the King of Pops?". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ Chapman, Gray (16 May 2014). "Coming Soon: A 68-acre farm for King of Pops". Creative Loafing Atlanta. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ Smith, Kelundra (29 April 2015). "Review: Original, irreverent "King of Pops" at Dad's Garage sets Atlanta's food truck wars to music". ArtsATL. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ "kingofpops.com/about/our-products/". Archived from the original on 2018-09-05.