Thanks to Northern Kentucky University graduate Robin Farney, TikTok’s viral “dirty soda” trend has now arrived in the Greater Cincinnati region. Combining soft drinks with add-ins like cream, syrups and fruit, the drinks initially gained popularity in Utah, giving the state’s large Mormon population a fun alternative to coffee and cocktails. It was there, on a hiking trip with friends, that Farney was inspired to open her own dirty soda shop—Drinkology—which officially opened on May 15.
“I tried Sprite and lemonade with coconut cream and strawberry, and I loved it,” says Farney. “I don’t drink coffee, so I don’t get to go out to get drinks that often. I thought that there must be other people who either don’t like coffee or would like to try something else in the afternoon.”
Drawing on her experience working at her father’s business, Bob & Don Restaurant Equipment, Farney decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship, opting to start her own company rather than opening a franchise of a pre-existing dirty soda chain. The greater independence allowed her the freedom to add new menu items like iced tea and set her own hours.
“I’d really love for this to be an easy, convenient stop for people looking for an inexpensive treat.”
One of the greatest initial challenges in opening Drinkology was finding a vacant space with a drive-thru, which Farney felt was essential to the business.
“You can get drinks at a lot of different fast food restaurants, but you never know how long it’s going to take,” she says. “Some days, that can be ten seconds when there’s nobody ahead of you in line. Others, it can be 15 minutes. When you’re not serving full meals, the experience is much more efficient.”
The ideal space, located on Burlington Pike in Florence, became available in February. After three months of renovations and menu development, Drinkology was ready for business in May.
“We’ve been very busy,” Farney says. “We’ve gotten a lot of younger people who’ve always wanted to try dirty soda after seeing it online, which is very cool. We’ve even had people come down from Kenwood to try it, and we’ve already gotten some regulars, too.”
Farney graduated from NKU in 2020 with a double major in accounting and finance. She says that her involvement outside of the classroom in organizations like Student Alumni Council helped make college a great experience.
“Our advisor, Emma Walker, was fantastic and taught us tons of valuable skills like networking,” Farney says.
In the future, Farney hopes to expand Drinkology into more of the northern Kentucky region and Cincinnati.
“I think there’s a want for things like this in the area,” Farney says. “I’d really love for this to be an easy, convenient stop for people looking for an inexpensive treat.”
