Rocket Fizz

This place has a huge selection of candy and soft drinks, as well as an assortment of interesting oddities. Always fun to roam around and see what’s on offer. But buying anything? That’s a problem. We’ve purchased 3 different types of candy bars, all expensive, on 3 different occasions. All 3 were extremely stale. And 1 was half-​smashed. Won’t be buying from here again.

I haven’t seen a store like this before, even though they’re all over! I was impressed by the wide variety of sodas that they have in every conceivable flavor! I had to try the bacon soda, which had a «bacony» taste with a hint of maple syrup. And then there was the candy! I know they had a huge variety of retro candy, but nothing really caught my eye because I was concentrating more on the soft drink variety, and I didn’t have very much time left for my lunch break! I’ll have to come back when I have more time and check out the rest of the store!

Wow, this place is amazing! I am a big time candy lover, while my husband despises it. However, even he couldn’t help be amazed at all of the flavors and shapes and vintage-​style goodies!
They have an overwhelming collection of soda flavors, some totally crazy (Gus’s Gross Pimple Pup– no thanks but let me know if you try it!) and some mouth-​watering (marshmallow soda– yum!)
There’s an entire section of licorice, every-​flavor jelly bean individually packaged, tons of taffy, and bizarre imports– like Japanese green tea Kit Kat Bars – whaaat?
Prices are not exactly low, but if you want cheap candy, go buy some CVS brand red hots. Staff was friendly and helpful!
Deciding what to buy was time consuming and difficult… I wanted to try it all. I can imaging being a kid in here would be like… well…you know.

Loved this place so much, it had such a wide variety of soda candy and fun trinkets. I went to this place like 3 times during my visit to boulder. I never wanted to leave the store! The candy wasnt expensive but for what it was, it was a little pricey but i loved the store so much it was worth it.

Cute little boutique shop that sells funny action figures and a shiz ton of candy. Literally anything you can think of that has an overload of sugar you can probably find here. I’m a personal fan of the awkward photoshoot with the cardboard cutouts around the store– I don’t know why Ron weasley looks so constipated (maybe he ate too much of the candy). Anyway if you’re a nerd or a sugar fiend, this is the place for you!

I can’t decide how I feel about Rocket Fizz– the Denver location or the Boulder location.
First the drawbacks: it’s trying to feel local and independent and one-​off and Boulder-​y, but it’s a franchise, and it feels like it. Also, maybe it’s organized somehow, but the scheme is lost on me, especially for the sodas.
On the bright side, if you’re like Buddy the Elf and your food groups are candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup, this is your store (well, except maybe the syrup). The selection is huge, with old-​school candies, imported goods, and lots of things I’ve never even heard of. I was especially impressed with the drink options, and really like the Australian root beer that I tried.
I wouldn’t make a special trip up to Boulder for Rocket Fizz, but it’s a good stop while you’re exploring Pearl Street.

I had never been here before because candy novelties are not really my thing. But I needed something for a token gift and I knew this store had the old fashioned candy. I bought the item right away, intending to just leave, but oh, there were so many oldies but goodies on the shelves that I had not seen in a VERY long time. So I stayed to browse to get a sense of the scope of their stock for future reference. Actually quite fun and the clerk was so friendly.

funky retro soda and candy, nothing really seemed cheap in here — $ 5 bottles of soda, etc.

It’s cute, it’s obnoxious, it gets you excited about all the possibilities until you see your total.

Came here during a vacation to Boulder. It’s really cute and campy — perfect for a tourist like me. But, I found out I liked looking at the stuff more than actually buying it. Like a weird candy museum. My five year old boo didn’t even want anything! Weeeird.

I love Rocket Fizz! We were sad after Powell’s went out of business, but this was an equally great discovery. THE TAFFY — they probably have upwards of 30 different kinds. Think coconut, coffee, blueberry muffin, mango, key lime, chocolate malt… and it’s perfectly soft and chewy. They also have a great selection of hard-​to-​find candy.

This is a genius idea and more cities should have this shop. The candy selection is fine, especially the taffy. But it’s the soda that really adds a unique dimension. You can’t find many of these brands anywhere else, and so can make some good new finds. The staff was very helpful in their recommendations, both good and bad.

For some reason, I eat more candy on vacation than during my normal non-​vacation life. Could it be because candy is a sometimes-​food and vacations are the sometimes-​foods of life? Could be.
So Rocket Fizz was a great find on a recent trip to Boulder, and I like the concept and execution. They offer a wide variety of rare, imported, classic, and hand-​to-​find sweets. I was able to score some Goo-​Goo Clusters for my mom, who likes her chocolate with a bit of nostalgia. My husband found some very good licorice, too.
For moi, I was momentarily disappointed that they do not carry bulk Jelly Bellys and in fact only a couple of the specialty mixes here and there. Jelly Belly, being the United States of the candy world, deserves a place in the UN that is Rocket Fizz. I’m not trying to start WWIII here, but let’s just say nobody puts Jelly Belly in the corner.
I was able to tame my sugar beastie with salt water taffy — yes, salt water taffy, that candy which I myself maligned as recently as February 2012 (
) and as early as July 2011 (
). But dare I say I really enjoyed this stuff? Rocket Fizz has a huge selection of good flavors (root beer float, chocolate chip cookie, s’mores, cinnamon roll, chocolate malt, hot cocoa, etc.) I actually liked them enough to get more when we happened to walk by the Denver RF location. So I take back what I said, and apologize to salt water taffy and the people who love it. You’re right, it can be really good.

Speaking of root beer, they have a huge selection of root beers and other flavored pops. We didn’t try any on this visit but would probably conduct some taste tests if we lived nearby. I’m glad to see root beer getting some love though, and not just from Mormons.
The store itself is kind of chaotic but it seems to work. In addition to the candy, there are tons of toys, gag gifts, rock posters and tchotchkes. They also play some sweet classic rock for your listening pleasure. Rock on, Rocket Fizz!

What a serendipitous discovery to make right after lunch.
Candy, candy, candy. Almost everything that you’ve heard of and much that you haven’t. And a staggering selection of specialty sodas, if you prefer to drink your sugar instead. It’s generally a fun space, with all those sweet products flying around, plus hilarious gag products, rock n’ roll posters, and various pop-​cultural cardboard cutouts.
I wish that they had a wider selection of licorice, like the real stuff from Australia or Europe. However, I bought a container of Gustaf’s (imported from Holland) which was outstanding. I also found a great Philadelphia product called Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews that I had never heard of (as a PA native I consider this a serious oversight).
Strangely, there were no bins of Jelly Bellys to be found, only a very few prepackaged mixes. I have explored many candy emporia in my day and this may be the first not to sell bulk Jelly Bellys. Curious decision, and disappointing.
Generally, these prices seem a little high despite the relative rarity and/​or far-​flung provenance of some of the products. But if you consider it a splurge rather than a habit, don’t think of the money and just enjoy a delightful treat.
The layout is kind of chaotic, and if you’re looking for something specific, you will need to scan every shelf and table in order to be certain that it is or is not there. The upside to this method is that you are bound to discover something whimsical or intriguing that you would never see at your local convenience store.

Cute candy store — lots of «old fashioned» sodas available. While it may be a chain, I think it’s a good addition to all the other stores in the area. Bring cash for small purchases.

2012 Review #280:
Well, now there’s a Rocket Fizz in Boulder. That makes 3 in CO. Don’t get lulled into thinking Rocket Fizz is an independent business; it’s a lot like Powell’s, the other chain candy store that used to be on Pearl Street. Although Rocket Fizz is franchised, so the locations are owned by locals, hopefully, it still ahs the cookie-​cutter feeling of a chain. This location is setup similarly to the Denver store, with a wall of soda, walls of bins of candy like taffy, and tables of specialty candy products.
Most people know by now that I am not swayed by the «Old Fashioned Candy Shoppe» idea. I find it trite and I find the appeal to be completely baffling. The only thing I liked about Rocket Fizz in Denver was they have Crunky, a hard-​to-​find Japanese candy bar. Alas, they do not have Crunky at this location. I searched the Japanese candy table, didn’t see it, asked the employee and she said, «Did you look over there?» (pointing to the table I searched). I told her yes and she said «Oh, well, I guess it could be anywhere then» and gestured to the whole store. I asked if it would be anywhere specific and she said «well check with the normal chocolate bars over here. This is where we put our commercially available chocolate» which made no sense, since I had just explained that it was extremely hard to find. They are slightly redeemed by having some interesting variations on local products, such as pretzel and chocolate Chocolove bars, and some other flavors of foreign products I hadn’t seen (corn flake and chocolate RitterSport).
I also think that the soda selection is better here; I saw more savory/​weird soda flavors than at the Denver store. I would assume the soda in each store is the same, but then again, the candy isn’t apparently so maybe the owners have some control regarding product. Although the selection is better in terms of soda, the organization of it was seemingly random, and there wasn’t any labeling, so if you are looking for a specific soda you’ll probably need to look around. I’m sure this place will do well here, because nothing says «eating candy is totally ok!» like paying double for it, but if we’re gonna have another pointless candy store, I wish it was a truly independent and unique offering.