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Swig, the popular soft-drink chain that trademarked the term “dirty soda” for beverages enhanced by syrups and creamers, will open its third Indiana location on Thursday.
The shop at 10121 E. Washington St. in Indianapolis will serve drive-thru customers from a 1,400-square-foot space previously occupied by a Papa Murphy’s pizza spot at the Washington Place Shopping Center south of Washington Square Mall.
In September, a south-side Swig location opened near the intersection of County Line Road and Interstate 65. This initial Indianapolis shop attracted crowds during Taylor Swift’s visit to Lucas Oil Stadium in November that resulted in 3-hour lines for customers, according to franchisee Daron LeBlanc.
The first Swig in Indianapolis attained online fame when Indiana Fever players Caitlin Clark and Lexie Hull documented an October pilgrimage for a TikTok review video. LeBlanc is seen delivering four drinks to the pro basketball players in a clip that’s been streamed 2.1 million times at Hull’s TikTok profile.
A north-side Swig opened at 9510 N. Meridian St. in December.
Founded in Utah in 2010, Swig opened its 100th shop in February. Swig locations serve modified soft drinks, energy drinks and water-based beverages accented by fresh fruit in 14 states.
The soft-drink menu features brands such as Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sprite altered by coconut cream, strawberry puree, half & half and other items.
Indiana Swig locations are operated by a franchisee known as Black Mountain Soda. The four principals of Black Mountain Soda are LeBlanc, Randy Hallam, Gavin Rundell and Quinton LeBlanc (who’s the son of Daron LeBlanc).
Daron LeBlanc said he expects strong business at the East Washington Street location, which will celebrate its grand opening Thursday through Saturday.
Training in speed and efficiency are key when accommodating a crush of customers, LeBlanc said. A shop’s roster of 35 to 40 employees includes experts in “line busting,” or taking orders from motorists before they reach a menu board or drive-thru window.
LeBlanc describes the activity inside a Swig location as an assembly line of sorts.
“For the four or five employees on the inside where the drinks go down the line, there’s a lot of what we call ‘echoing,’” he said. “Somebody says something, and people have to echo it back to make sure they heard the instruction right. For example, ‘This person wants light ice, so don’t put the normal scoop in.’ They do a lot of that, which is helpful to get it right. But it starts with the person on the curb taking the information.”
LeBlanc said the fourth Swig location in Indiana is planned for Noblesville. Black Mountain Soda is eyeing Evansville, Bloomington, Lafayette and Fort Wayne for future sites, he said.
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I got a soft opening for about 2 weeks now at the East side location and business has been great so far