Polly's Pop

Polly’s Pop is a cane-sugar craft soda brand bottled at 306 W Maple Ave in Independence, MO — a revival of a Kansas City / Independence soda originally produced from 1923 to 1967 that Ken & Cindy McClain brought back to production in August 2016.¹² The small-batch sodas are bottled behind a glass viewing wall and served on tap and in bottles across the McClain Enterprises venues on Independence Square.²³

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Description

Polly’s Pop is a heritage-brand craft soda made with 100-percent cane sugar and bottled in small batches in Independence, MO.¹² The brand traces to 1923, when — per Polly’s own account — Louis L. “Polly” and Dorothea Compton began making the soda in Independence, with the drink bottled locally through the Independence Bottling Co. until production ceased in 1967.¹² Ken and Cindy McClain revived the dormant brand and resumed bottling in August 2016 at a plant at 306 W Maple Ave, using a restored 1940s bottling line purchased from Fitz’s Bottling Co. of St. Louis and installed behind a glass wall so visitors can watch the machine run.¹² The sodas are caffeine- and gluten-free and produced in small batches.¹

Polly’s Pop functions as the maker/beverage arm of the McClain Enterprises portfolio on Independence Square: the cane-sugar sodas are poured on tap and sold in glass bottles across the group’s venues — Clinton’s Soda Fountain, The Courthouse Exchange, El Pico, and others — and were reported served at all McClain-owned locations.²³ Feast Magazine framed the 2016 relaunch as a “labor of love to bring an iconic local soda back to store shelves,” and KCUR reported roughly 25,000 bottles sold as of May 2017.²³

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Ownership and history

Ownership

Period	Owner / Operator	Notes
1923–1967	Compton family / Independence Bottling Co.	Original brand; bottled locally in Independence until production ended in 1967.12
Aug 2016 → present	McClain Restaurant Group (Ken & Cindy McClain)	Revived the brand; resumed bottling at 306 W Maple on a restored 1940s Fitz’s line.12

McClain Enterprises context

Ken and Cindy McClain began revitalizing Independence Square in 1998, starting with the former Katz Pharmacy building (now Ophelia’s) and growing the portfolio to roughly 15 businesses (“18 and counting”).⁴ Cindy McClain serves as president; she grew up in Boulder, CO, with family and church ties to Independence rather than being born-and-raised there.⁴ Polly’s Pop is the group’s beverage-maker revival — a locally produced soda that both anchors and supplies the McClain venues on the Square.²³

Sibling McClain-Square businesses: clintons-soda-fountain, cafe-verona, square-pizza, up-dog, el-pico, courthouse-exchange, ophelias-restaurant-inn, main-street-coffee-house, and the parent mcclain-enterprises.

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Offerings

• 100% cane-sugar craft sodas, caffeine- and gluten-free, made in small batches¹
• Flavors at the 2016 relaunch: cream soda, orange, root beer, grape, pineapple, strawberry²
• Expanded flavor lineup (per official site): Root Beer, Diet Root Beer, Cream Soda, Black Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Grape, Orange, Pineapple, Peach, Strawberry, Ginger Beer, and more (16 flavors)¹
• Limited-edition collaborations, e.g., Glazed Donut (with Donutology)¹
• Sold in 12-oz glass bottles; on tap at McClain venues²³
• Retail: Gilbert Whitney & Co. on Independence Square; online shop; wholesale via Faire¹²

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Links

• Official site: https://pollyssodapop.com/
• About: https://pollyssodapop.com/about-us/

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Sources

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Disputes

None at this time. (Minor sourcing note: the original brand’s founding is attributed to the Compton family per Polly’s own site, while Feast frames the 1923–1967 production under the Independence Bottling Co.; these are complementary, not contradictory.)

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Footnotes

1. Polly’s Pop — official website / “About Us,” https://pollyssodapop.com/about-us/ — Confirms: founding 1923 by Louis L. “Polly” and Dorothea Compton in Independence, production to 1967, revival August 2016 by Ken & Cindy McClain, 306 W Maple Ave address, restored 1940s Fitz’s bottling machine, 100% cane sugar / caffeine- and gluten-free / small batch, 16-flavor lineup, Glazed Donut collaboration, online shop / retail locator / wholesale. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. Feast Magazine — “Ken and Cindy McClain Begin Bottling Polly’s Soda Pop in Independence,” https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/ken-and-cindy-mcclain-begin-bottling-polly-s-soda-pop-in-independence/article_024eb8de-6872-11e6-af4d-53819d9f1157.html — Confirms: Independence Bottling Co. produced Polly’s 1923–1967, 100-percent cane sugar, August 2016 relaunch, 306 W Maple bottling plant with glass viewing wall, six launch flavors, Fitz’s Bottling Co. (St. Louis) production line, and service points (Clinton’s Soda Fountain, Courthouse Exchange, Diamond Bowl, El Pico’s, Pharaoh Cinema) plus retail at Gilbert Whitney & Co. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

3. KCUR — “Polly’s Pop Leads A ‘Craft Soda’ Revival In Independence, Missouri” (May 12, 2017), https://www.kcur.org/community/2017-05-12/pollys-pop-leads-a-craft-soda-revival-in-independence-missouri — Confirms: revival by the McClains, restored 1940s Fitz’s line, cane sugar, sold in 12-oz bottles, served at all McClain-owned locations, ~25,000 bottles sold as of the article date. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. KC Independent — “Palatable Pursuits: Trailblazer Cindy McClain,” https://kcindependent.com/palatable-pursuits-trailblazer-cindy-mcclain/ — Confirms: McClain Enterprises ownership structure, Cindy McClain as president, Square revitalization from 1998, ~15 (“18 and counting”) businesses, and Cindy’s background. ↩ ↩²