Carbonation opened its doors early this month at the former location of the Pebble Spa, welcoming customers to a space filled with retro arcade games, crafts, a children’s play area, a soon-to-be soda counter and more.
Beginning this fall, Ely’s newest pop shop on Sheridan Street will offer their signature dirty sodas after the Minnesota Department of Health approves their commercial kitchen.
The shop will feature two menus, one with a base of soda and the other with soda water, which owner Tara Boerst calls the “adult menu.” Although all offerings will be alcohol-free, the second menu will use Duluth- based Vikre Distillery syrups to flavor their drinks.
“You have a soda base and then you add flavor and then you get creamer at the end,” Boerst said. “It’s really surprising what the cream does, actually.”
Boerst is working with the Dorothy Molter Museum to source their root beer as an ingredient for one recipe. Torani and Monin syrups will flavor other dirty sodas.
Ely-based Loony Pop set up shop on Carbonation’s deck on July 3, serving hand-crafted, Northwoods- themed fizzy drinks to Fourth of July visitors as a lead-up to the autumn menu launch.
Boerst said Carbonation won’t offer food beyond soda and snacks. Visitors may bring their own food items, and Boerst said she hopes to invite food trucks to park behind the business.
Carbonation is currently open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. all days of the week except Sunday. Boerst plans to eventually stay open until 8 p.m., in line with her mission to offer a place for teenagers and others to spend time in the evenings.
“We have been looking for something for teenagers to do since my daughter was just barely getting into being a teenager. I thought, what’s she going to do? Where’s she going to hang out? What’s going to happen?” Boerst said.
She had been trying to create an arcade for some time and had shopped around for other spaces before this opportunity landed.
“I just want to be somewhere where there’s a lot of energy,” Boerst said.
Employees were busy earlier this month powering up the retro arcade, unpacking and plugging in five game machines that will cost visitors just 50 cents to play, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bubble Bobble and an Arcade Classics machine hosting 60 games that range from Pac Man to Donkey Kong and beyond.
The store also provides numerous board games for those preferring offline fun. Boerst said she has an idea for a paintball room as well.
Visitors can stop by the Craft Cabin, drop $5 and create their own beadwork, bracelets and more.
Supplies and volunteer assistance are provided from 1-3 p.m., with bracelet weaving on Mondays, keychain- making on Tuesdays and Saturdays, pin-making on Wednesdays, pony bead animals on Thursdays and rock painting on Fridays.
Carbonation features coworking spaces on the upper level, leasing rooms and offices to visitors for $20 a day or $100 a month. Windows upstairs overlook Ely’s streets and the rooms are quiet and air conditioned.
Regular coworking hours run on the standard 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. timeline, but Carbonation’s website encourages interested individuals to ask about expanded access earlier or later in the day.
The business also features a gallery of work by Ely artist Andy Messerschmidt, who has exhibited his work at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center and in locations around the globe.
Carbonation is still open for business through the wildfire season. They hosted a gathering on Friday, July 17 to create thank-you signs for the firefighters who have poured into Ely from across the United States.
