{"id":89655,"date":"2025-12-19T19:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T19:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/89655\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T19:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T19:54:08","slug":"utahs-swig-to-open-first-fort-myers-dirty-soda-shop-hospitality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/89655\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah’s Swig to open first Fort Myers dirty soda shop | Hospitality"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dirty soda craze, a sweet, caffeinated remix of traditional soft drinks, is rolling into Fort Myers, fueled by social media, reality television and a growing national appetite for highly customizable beverages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Swig, the Utah-based brand widely credited with bringing dirty soda into the mainstream, plans to open its first Fort Myers location in early 2026 at 13401 Summerlin Road, Suite 1. The 1,200-square-foot shop marks the brand\u2019s debut in the city and its continued expansion across Florida, including Bradenton, Clermont and Lutz, following its first in-state opening in November 2024. In addition, the brand\u2019s website shows it is planning a location at 1121 Solaris Drive in Cape Coral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Swig<\/p>\n

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A map shows the planned location of Swig\u2019s first Fort Myers shop at 13401 Summerlin Road, Suite 1, in a retail center anchored by Publix near the intersection of Summerlin Road and Cypress Lake Drive. The Utah-based dirty soda chain is targeting an early 2026 opening as it expands across Southwest Florida.<\/p>\n

LQ Commercial<\/p>\n

Dirty soda begins with a base soda \u2014 commonly cola, lemon-lime or root beer \u2014 layered with flavored syrups, fruit purees and cream or coconut cream. The result is a drink that straddles the line between soda and dessert, delivering caffeine without coffee and offering near-endless personalization. Popular combinations include cola mixed with coconut cream and lime, Dr. Pepper blended with vanilla or coconut and lemon-lime soda paired with raspberry syrup and cream.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the concept has circulated for years in Utah and surrounding states, dirty soda surged into the national spotlight with Hulu\u2019s reality series \u201cThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.\u201d The show follows a group of Utah-based influencers, part of a collective known as MomTok, whose friendships, conflicts and family lives play out largely on social media. Central figures include Taylor Frankie Paul, Demi Engemann, Jen Affleck, Whitney Leavitt, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor and Miranda McWhorter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Secret<\/p>\n

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Cast members of Hulu\u2019s \u201cThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,\u201d the reality series that helped propel dirty soda into the national spotlight through viral social media moments.<\/p>\n

Araya Doheny Photography<\/p>\n

Throughout the series, dirty soda appears as a recurring ritual, woven into everything from casual meetups to emotionally charged conversations. The drinks reflect cultural norms within Mormon communities, where alcohol and coffee are discouraged, but soda-based caffeine is embraced. Scenes featuring frequent drive-thru stops for oversized cups of customized soda helped introduce the subculture to a national audience, triggering viral clips and spikes in online searches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomers are flocking to get their fix of flavored soda blends topped with creams, fruit, and syrups,\u201d said Tom Strauss, principal of LQ Commercial Fort Myers, which represented Swig in securing the Fort Myers location. \u201cThis overwhelming response proves one thing: Southwest Florida is ready for a full-scale dirty soda experience and Swig, the brand that started it all, saw the opportunity to fill that gap.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Swig<\/p>\n

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A signature dirty soda from Swig combines traditional soda with flavored syrups and cream, a customizable drink style gaining national attention.<\/p>\n

Swig<\/p>\n

Swig\u2019s menu is built around customization, allowing customers to adjust sweetness levels, ice, flavor combinations and add-ins. Many customers treat the drinks as a daily ritual, an indulgent but familiar alternative to coffee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people are turning to dirty sodas as their new way to get a caffeine boost, and Swig has made this an exciting experience,\u201d said Jessica McEvoy, senior associate of LQ Commercial. \u201cThe brand\u2019s rise in popularity has mirrored the kind of growth Starbucks saw in its early years \u2014 it has become a cultural phenomenon, and Fort Myers is ready to join in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dirty soda craze, a sweet, caffeinated remix of traditional soft drinks, is rolling into Fort Myers, fueled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[48460,209,211,210,48461,14978,897,14979],"class_list":{"0":"post-89655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cape-coral","8":"tag-caffeinated-beverages","9":"tag-cape-coral","10":"tag-cape-coral-headlines","11":"tag-cape-coral-news","12":"tag-customizable-drinks","13":"tag-dirty-soda","14":"tag-fort-myers","15":"tag-swig"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}