- December 24, 2024
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The Kerlins have always been a big soda family.
But five years ago, John Kerlin started looking at carbonated beverages in a new way. He was on the phone with his eldest daughter, who lives on the west side of the country. She was going through a drive-thru and ordered a Mountain Dew-based drink that John thought sounded delicious.
"This was a small little shop in a small little town of Idaho," John said. "Well dad's brain starts going and I'm thinking ... 'I wonder what this could be.'"
Gourmet sodas, also called "dirty" sodas, are carbonated drinks made with a brand-name soda combined with various syrup flavors and creams. But this takes inspiration from the original soda jerks of the 1920s to 1950s, which would historically often mix carbonated water and syrup to make soda drinks in drugstores.
The Kerlins moved to Ormond Beach three years ago and made the decision to open a soda shop about a year ago.Originally, the family was looking at opening their shop in Port Orange, but when that door closed, they found a home for their new soda shop, "Soda Waves," at 1425 W. Granada Blvd., Unit 2, in Ormond Beach, which formerly housed a Boston Market restaurant.
The family hopes to open sometime in mid-November. John said he's excited to open their doors, as throughout the buildout, people have popped in and expressed excitement about their business.
"We would love to have everyone come by and try," John said.
Soda Waves offers signature drinks such as the Tiki Island (a Dr. Pepper base with vanilla syrup and coconut cream), Bikini (a Coca-cola or Pepsi base with strawberry syrup and vanilla cream), and the Swaying Palm (a Sprite base with cranberry syrup, raspberry puree and fresh lime). Patrons can also create their own drinks, and in addition to sodas, the shop also offers sparkling water and tea as alternate bases, all of which are poured from a tap.
John's daughter Jamie Kerlin is the brains behind the signature drinks. She spent months with syrup bottles on her counter, trying different combinations until she found ones she liked.
"When he came to me with this, I was totally on board," Jamie said. "Let's do this. It's been me and him all the way through.
John spent 47 years in the corporate world until he retired and decided to become a business owner. Jamie said he's always been an entrepreneur at heart, and she wanted to support him to be able to live the way he wants.
Becoming part of Soda Waves also empowered her, she added. She's been in the restaurant business for 20 years, and now she gets to do what she loves — for not just a small business, but one owned by her father. Her biggest goal is to provide a happy work environment for their employees, many of whom are Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students.
"I literally can't sleep at night because I'm so excited to come here," Jamie said. "To get to the point where we can be around people."
The family is very community-focused, John said. They are looking forward to continuing to be that way, and incorporating Soda Waves — Ormond's first soda shop at the moment.
"The fact that we can integrate into the community with something that's unique today — tomorrow, there may be somebody here, that's okay. Competition is just fine — but we want to serve," John said. "We have that in our nature, in our blood and that's really fun for us to be able to do — and offer something fun."
Once open, soda Waves will also offer curbside service. An app is also available to download. Visit https://www.sodawaves.com.
