‘Candy is recession proof’

BURBANK — Jack Cross leans over a sucrose-clogged counter and casually reveals his business philosophy — soda, candy and fun.

Just three weeks after successfully landing Rocket Fizz Burbank at 2112 W. Magnolia Blvd., many are singing his praises, perhaps to the tune of Paul Anka’s “Diana,” which played on loop inside the converted liquor store.

Cross, who opened the shop with Luke Jacobellis, said the temple to high-fructose corn syrup — a veritable storeroom filled with hundreds of bottled sodas and recollection-inducing treats — is as much an ode to 1950s and ’60s pop culture.

A coin-operated space shuttle stands outside while customers are greeted with a bright neon sign and posters inspired by decades of rock shows and albums. Two flat-screen monitors show classic television programs and movies. Cross and Jacobellis plan to get a projector going out back.

Then there’s the candy, packed in boxes, loose and organized neatly atop old railroad buggy cars culled from a store yard in Reno.

“You won’t find a Snickers bar,” said Cross, a curator of sorts.

The shop, along with the TV, tunes and toy rocket ship, also houses a pinball machine patrons can play free of charge.

Passing a five-door icebox full of hundreds of chilled sodas, from Nesbitt’s Honey Lemonade, to Fritz’s Cream Soda, to Triple XXX Root Beer, bearing a label claiming it “Tastes like root beer used to taste,” Cross steps back behind the counter and holds up a package of hot-dog shaped sweets.

“I remember when these came one to a pack,” he said. “I would get them playing Little League.”

John Barton, a classic car buff who works in the entertainment industry, said he was hit with a rush of memories when he walked through the door Thursday for the first time.

Barton used to sport a pompadour and drove classic cars to such places as Bob’s Big Boy and Cafe 50’s, where he danced on the bar after managers closed down the joint.

“I plan to tell everyone I know,” he said, taking an armful of candy up to the register. “We could park our cars outside.”

Inspired by the first Rocket Fizz in Camarillo, which is separately owned, Cross said despite the sour economy he and Jacobellis dove headlong into opening the Burbank because “candy is recession proof.”

Ryan Chatts lives around the corner from the Magnolia Park shop and has already visited a handful of times. Aside from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-size stripped lollypops, all swirls and color, the 8-year-old said he tends to prefer Roller Derby Bubble Gum Cigarettes and Nik-L-Nip, a sugary concoction whose brand name is a combination of the original cost — one nickel — and preferred wax bottle-opening technique — to nip.

“I’ve never seen a place like it,” he said.

What often happens is children arrive with their parents and five to 10 minutes later, after grabbing candy left and right, become uninterested.

“The kids will bring their parents, and it’s the parents who want to come back,” he said.