A Utah chain famous for sugary, syrup-and-cream-loaded “dirty sodas” has set its sights on Grove City for its first-ever Ohio location, filing plans to take over a vacant drive-thru building on Stringtown Road. Swig submitted its proposal to occupy 1939 Stringtown Road, the former home of a Rally's that closed abruptly this past summer, according to city officials.
Grove City At-Large Councilmember Jodi Burroughs first broke the news on her official Facebook page, revealing that Swig submitted its plans on October 10, according to Columbus Navigator. Grove City spokesperson Pat Kindig told NBC4 WCMH-TV that Swig submitted its plans last month, and that the proposal includes alterations to the existing building. The project is currently under review by Grove City's building and zoning departments, and the chain has not yet filed a formal application with the development department. No planning commission hearing or city council hearing has been scheduled.
A Vacant Drive-Thru With a Short, Messy History
The building Swig hopes to move into has sat empty since the Rally's location closed in mid-August without prior notice from the chain, which removed its exterior signage by late August, per Columbus Navigator's reporting. That closure left eight remaining Rally's restaurants still operating across Franklin County. Franklin County property records show the roughly 1,800-square-foot structure was built in 1983 and sits on about half an acre.
Swig's business model is built for exactly this kind of reuse. The chain relies on small, high-throughput drive-thru sites that need no heavy kitchen hoods or fryers, a setup that makes vacant fast-food shells like the former Rally's building ideal for a fast turnaround, Columbus Navigator notes. Beyond customized fountain sodas, Swig's menu includes water-based Refreshers, caffeinated Revivers, frozen hot chocolate and frosted sugar cookies, according to MassLive.
Why a Utah Soda Chain Wants Grove City
Stringtown Road is Grove City's primary commercial corridor, carrying more than 32,000 vehicles a day and generating over $1.6 billion in consumer spending within a five-mile radius, according to Columbus Business First. The strip is already drawing major retail interest; the same outlet reported in September 2026 that a 104,470-square-foot BJ's Wholesale Club with an 18-pump gas station has been proposed nearby, a project Hoodline previously covered in detail. Swig would also be arriving into a market where Utah-founded competitor FiiZ Drinks has already established a presence in nearby Pickerington, per 614NOW, and where independent concepts like Reel Sips have opened dirty soda shops elsewhere in Northeast Ohio.
The Grove City filing is just the latest move in a much larger expansion push. Swig currently operates more than 170 locations across 17 states, not counting Ohio, after growing from around 104 locations in 14 states in early 2025. The company has set a target of scaling to at least 1,000 locations nationwide by 2030, a goal supported by multi-unit franchising deals including a 25-store agreement in South Florida signed in April 2026, per Columbus Navigator. That growth accelerated after Utah-based family office The Larry H. Miller Company acquired a majority stake in Swig in November 2022 from private equity firm Savory Fund, with founder Nicole Tanner and her partners retaining minority ownership, according to a PR Newswire release. Savory Fund had originally taken its initial controlling stake in the chain back in 2018.
From St. George Shop to National Beverage Trend
Tanner opened the first Swig shop in St. George, Utah, in 2010, building on a dirty soda concept that is simply a fountain drink customized with flavored syrups, fruit purées and cream. The drinks became popular among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as drive-thru soda shops proliferated across Utah, a cultural shift enabled in part by church doctrine. The church's Word of Wisdom health code directs members to abstain from alcohol, coffee and tea, and the church issued a statement in August 2012 clarifying that its code does not prohibit cold caffeinated sodas, according to the Associated Press.
Dirty soda's jump from regional habit to social media phenomenon has been fueled heavily by platforms like TikTok. Olivia Rodrigo posted a photo holding a Swig cup in 2021, and the reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which follows the Utah influencers behind the MomTok trend, features cast members drinking Swig and other customized sodas. That visibility has not gone unnoticed by major chains: Inc. reports that McDonald's launched a 500-restaurant pilot program for dirty sodas and customizable beverages in 2025, while Taco Bell and Sonic have rolled out their own customized cream and syrup drink options.
Back in Grove City, the path forward still runs through routine municipal process rather than marketing buzz. With no hearing date yet on the books, residents eager for their own drive-thru dirty soda fix will have to wait for the city's building and zoning departments to finish their review before Swig's first Ohio location can move any closer to reality.
