A new custom soda shop is bubbling up on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, bringing the Utah-born “dirty soda” craze to its first Greater Los Angeles storefront. What The Fizz plans to open at 15011 Ventura Blvd, taking over the former home of DV Brows & Permanent Makeup, with owner Alex Hidalgo targeting a mid-October debut.
What The Fizz describes itself as Los Angeles's first custom sips shop, according to WhatNow. The concept centers on build-your-own soda combinations mixing crisp carbonated sodas, premium flavor syrups, creamy mixers, and fresh toppings, alongside signature handcrafted sodas already on the menu. Food options round things out with freshly baked cookies and protein ball packs, though the full menu is still listed as coming soon.
Hidalgo said the Sherman Oaks concept is expected to debut in fall 2026, with the opening now narrowed to mid-October. The shop is currently hiring part-time “sodaristas,” positions the company says involve preparing drinks and connecting with customers, and it's offering those hires flexible schedules. What The Fizz is also encouraging fans to sign up for updates on menu drops, exclusive offers, and upcoming announcements ahead of opening day.
How Ventura Boulevard Became Ground Zero
The Sherman Oaks address sits along a stretch of Ventura Boulevard that functions as the San Fernando Valley's central commercial dining corridor, where daytime worker foot traffic and nearby residential density have made it a magnet for quick-service concepts, per Tina Damadyan Real Estate. What The Fizz's arrival tracks with a broader wave of fast-casual openings on the boulevard this year, including smash-burger concept Burger She Wrote and a HoneyBaked Ham location, the brokerage's local reporting notes. The corridor has also seen turnover on the other end of the spectrum, with longtime Sherman Oaks staple Boneyard Bistro closing after 21 years.
The site itself has a history of personal-care businesses, having previously housed DV Brows & Permanent Makeup and Beeta Salon before its conversion into a beverage retailer, according to Giftly. Local outlet WhatsNewSFV first flagged What The Fizz's planned Sherman Oaks location back in January, well before leasing and opening timetables were confirmed. What The Fizz has since documented the build-out on its own social channels, sharing construction video clips in late August under the teaser “Empty space to dirty soda dream loading.”
A Trend Rooted in Utah, Now Chasing National Scale
Dirty soda traces back to 2010, when Nicole Tanner opened Swig in St. George, Utah, to serve customized soft drinks to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who traditionally avoid coffee and tea but drink cold caffeinated sodas following a 2012 church doctrine clarification, according to Food Republic. The category has since evolved into an estimated $70 million-plus national beverage business, fueled partly by gross margins that can reach 80% on drinks that cost roughly 70 cents in ingredients but sell for $3 to $5, per the Aromatech Group.
The trend went viral nationally after singer Olivia Rodrigo posted an Instagram photo holding a Swig drink in December 2021, and it surged again following the September 2024 premiere of Hulu's “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” Wikipedia's entry on the phenomenon notes. Market leader Swig has since scaled to 164 storefronts across 16 states as of May 2026, reporting year-to-date revenue growth of 39%, according to the Lempert Report. Even major corporate beverage brands have taken notice: Coca-Cola has been prototyping a dairy equipment module for its Freestyle machines, and Suja Life introduced ready-to-drink dirty sodas at Target under its Slice brand in May 2026, per the Business Model Analyst's coverage of the sector.
What The Fizz's Sherman Oaks debut will test whether Southern California consumers embrace a dedicated dirty soda and cookie shop the way Utah, Boston, Chicago's southwest suburbs, and the Charlotte area already have, following Swig's expansion into those markets. Hoodline has previously covered Swig's six planned Boston drive-thrus and its Midwest and Carolinas expansions, but What The Fizz marks the trend's first documented brick-and-mortar entry into the Greater Los Angeles market. For now, Sherman Oaks residents will have to wait until mid-October to find out if the dirty soda hype translates to Ventura Boulevard.
