Rocket Fizz Westwood: Appearance by Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi
1067 Broxton Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Nestled between Chipotle and Waffle Chix on Broxton Avenue sits UCLA’s ultimate candy shop, Rocket Fizz. The confectionery castle houses a mix of thousands of sweet treats, life-size cutouts of celebrities, gag gifts and bottled drinks, some more well-known than others.
However, there’s a creation that was added to the store about six months ago that has stirred attention to the shop: a Wild Cherry Soda, also known as the official Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi Wild Cherry Soda. The drink comes in a glass bottle with a label that includes a cropped photo of Polizzi against a pink leopard background.
Polizzi, who is currently seven months pregnant, will make an appearance tonight at Rocket Fizz in Westwood to promote her new drink and sign autographs for fans. For those not familiar with Polizzi, she is notoriously known for her excessive alcohol consumption and wild antics on MTV’s reality show “Jersey Shore” as well as her new spin-off show “Snooki & JWoww.”
Rob Powells, co-founder and franchise owner of Rocket Fizz, met Polizzi two years ago at their Valencia location and said the two soon developed a personal friendship.
“This was the time that “˜Jersey Shore’ was just starting to be a big hit on TV,” Powells said. “She and I hit it off right away. She is really funny, and this girl is really smart, witty, soft and compassionate. Her image on ‘Jersey Shore’ is this tough party girl. She loves to party, but there’s a whole other side to her that you don’t see.”
After building a personal relationship with both Polizzi and her family, Powells asked Polizzi what her favorite soda flavor was. This conversation led to the conception of the wild cherry soda, a process that included Polizzi tasting different variations of cherry-flavored soda and contributing to the artwork on the label.
“She said, “˜Cherry,’ and I responded, “˜Why not pickle soda?’ since she likes pickles. She was like “˜Aw that’s really gross.’ (So I suggested) we do a Snooki wild cherry soda,” Powells said with a laugh.
The event is the second time Polizzi will make a promotional appearance in Westwood. Also in attendance and signing autographs will be professional fighter and boxer Mia St. John, who holds three boxing world titles and is also a good friend of Powells’.