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Dirty soda shop Sizzurp Soda Lab registers with Salt Lake County

Dirty soda shop Sizzurp Soda Lab registers with Salt Lake County

Rule Changes Salt Lake City, UT local

The downtown lab at 150 S State St leans into drug-adjacent branding with 'Microdose' and 'Overdose' drink sizes.

Today: Sizzurp Soda Lab surfaces on county health list

Overview

Updated 56 minutes ago

A new downtown Salt Lake City soda shop, named for hip-hop's codeine-laced 'purple drank,' has landed on the county's food establishment list. The Salt Lake County Health Department registry names Sizzurp Soda Lab/43I Block Party at 150 S State St, a storefront near City Creek Center. The listing is one step in the licensing process, not a final green light.

Sizzurp leans into the joke. Its website sells 'dirty soda' in sizes from Microdose to Overdose, split into Filthy, Uppers, and Downers menus, and claims a 2026 Best of SLC Gold award for Soda Shop. That branding stakes a claim in Utah's booming dirty soda economy, now spreading beyond its wholesome Swig roots.

Why it matters

If a shop named for codeine syrup survives downtown, dirty soda's edgy second generation has real traction.

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Key Indicators

150 S State St
Downtown Salt Lake City location
Storefront near City Creek Center where the soda lab is registering.
4
Drink sizes offered
Microdose, Dose, Double Dose, and Overdose, per the shop's website.
Gold
2026 Best of SLC Soda Shop award (claimed)
The shop's site says Salt Lake residents voted it Gold in the city's annual Soda Shop category.

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Organizations Involved

Timeline

1 event Latest: Today
  1. Sizzurp Soda Lab surfaces on county health list

    Today Licensing

    Salt Lake County's food establishment registry adds Sizzurp Soda Lab/43I Block Party at 150 S State St.

Scenarios

1

Sizzurp thrives downtown and expands its footprint

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Framing driven by the shop's own claims, which tout a 2026 Best of SLC Gold award and repeat catering work.

If the City Creek foot traffic and local buzz hold, Sizzurp builds a steady downtown clientele, adds menu lines, and eventually opens a second location. That is the playbook Swig used to grow from a single St. George stand into a regional chain.

2

Sizzurp branding draws complaints or a forced name change

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Not currently predicted by any cited source; a plausible culture-war scenario given Utah's conservative, largely Latter-day Saint consumer base.

The 'sizzurp' reference to codeine cough syrup, plus 'Overdose' sizing, could draw complaints from parents or community groups. That could bring local media scrutiny and pressure to rebrand, the fate of the 2006 'Cocaine' energy drink, which dropped its name after FDA warnings.

3

One-room lab closes, another downtown soda venture fails

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: A baseline small-business risk; most single-location food shops face high downtown rents and competition from chains like Swig and Sonic.

If traffic near City Creek does not materialize, the shop cannot cover rent, the syrups go quiet, and the county registry eventually drops the permit for 150 S State St. The catering side would not be enough to keep the storefront alive.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2006

'Cocaine' energy drink (2006)

Redux Beverages launched an energy drink literally named 'Cocaine,' with packaging that riffed on the drug trade. In November 2006, the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter calling the name and marketing dangerous.

Then

Retailers dropped the product and Redux re-branded it, briefly as 'No Name' and then 'Censored.'

Now

The episode showed regulators and stores will act on beverage names that reference illicit drugs, even when the drink itself is legal.

Why this matters now

Sizzurp borrows a banned substance's slang for its brand; the Cocaine precedent shows what can happen if regulators or retailers object.

2010–present

Swig's dirty soda revolution (2010–present)

Nicole Tanner opened Swig in St. George, Utah, in 2010, mixing fountain soda with syrups, creams, and fruit purees. The drink fit a state where many residents avoid alcohol and coffee, and the concept spread fast.

Then

Dozens of copycat shops, including Fizz, Sodalicious, and Fiiz, opened across Utah.

Now

Dirty soda moved from Utah subculture to the mainstream; Sonic rolled out its own dirty soda menu in 2023.

Why this matters now

Sizzurp is a direct descendant of Swig's formula, but it trades the wholesome family image for drug-adjacent humor, testing how far the format can stretch.

Sources

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