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The Legacy of Deep South Pops in the Jackson Community

Deep South Pops offers a selection of 10 craft beers. A good number are made in Mississippi and include brands like Mississippi Brewing, Lazy Magnolia, and Southern Prohibition. Deep South Pops makes a full coffee menu using ingredients from the Mississippi Coffee Company. As for the gelato ice cream, Deep South Pops obtains its ingredients from the Sweet Magnolia Ice Cream Company in Clarksdale.

One of the things that people loved about Deep South was that it was a dog-friendly restaurant, something that is not too common among restaurants. Dog owners could go to one of the two outdoor tables and have a meal while their pet lounges underfoot.

At Deep South Pops’ height, there were 2 full-time employees and 10 part-time employees. Jake and Kristy have loved every minute since opening the joint and have never had a “what have we done” moment. Although Jake came from a corporate world, he loved it at Deep South Pops and liked to speak while he was there.

How has Deep South Pops Performed? One may ask. The establishment has done fairly well since 2015. But as with any endeavor, there have been a couple of challenges along the way. One of these challenges was in meeting the demand. When Jake and Kristy opened Deep South Pops in 2015, they underestimated the demand. They initially projected the demand to be 150 popsicles a day. However, this number quickly grew to 350, then 550 and 1900 as the business grew. Stepping up to this challenge has been one of the most rewarding experiences of the business venture.

Close to the end of 2019, Deep South Pops, Jackson’s home for coffee and gourmet popsicles, announced on their Facebook page that they would be closing. The post expressed that the owners were sad to say goodbye, but had chosen a new path owing to the needs of their growing family. The owners also expressed gratitude for the memories, love, and support from family, friends, and extended Jackson community. The shop, which had been open for about four and a half years, remained open until the end of November 2019.

Since 2015, Deep South Pops has been the to-go place in Jackson for a dessert treat and to get gifts for friends. The establishment was not your average popsicle store. Many people were impressed that a popsicle could taste so good during their first visit to Deep South Pops. Another attractive feature about Deep South Pops, was that although it wasn’t exclusively a coffee shop, they made a pretty good cup of coffee. The well made coffee and popsicles made for some of the best coffee-popsicle combinations you’ve ever had. Like finding someone with a perfect credit score, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything even remotely close to Deep South Pops in Jackson. To think that all this was inspired by The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is mindblowing. The story of Deep South Pops provides great insight — inspiration exists everywhere, but can only be found by those who seek it. Once you find inspiration and act on it great things follow.…

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Deep South Pops’s Diverse Menu

When they opened Deep South Pops on June 15, 2015, the team comprised Jake, Kristy, and one other employee. The business was quite demanding for them. Kristy and Jake would have to wake up at 3 in the morning, which is something they were not used to before. The first week was unexpected and busy. It featured almost an all-around schedule. There were a few hours of the day when they were at the same place at the same time. In the first month and a half of opening Deep South Pops when Jake and Kristy were getting up at the wee hours of the morning, and kind of passing one another briefly during the day. It seemed like it was going to be a little bit too hard. What they ended up with was a very different picture and a very different capacity. Jake was able to spend a lot more quality time than he was able to do before. They received tons of support from their employees family and friends when adjusting to their new life. The new normal was pretty great since it allowed them to grow as a new family and the kids blossomed because of their influence.

When Jake and Kristy opened Deep South Pops, they were inspired by other similar shops in the Southeast area. They decided to break the mold and do their version. Most of the other shops only offered counters but did not have dining areas. They created Deep South Pops as a meeting place for people, where families could sit while enjoying the service. The logo was created by Creative Distillery, while the building’s layout was designed by architect Vito Cannizaro. They also added to the menu sodas, craft beer, sorbets, and gelato ice cream. Other items in the menu included chocolate-dip floats, pop floats, La Brioche pastries, handcrafted gourmet pops. Jake and Kristy wanted Deep South Pops to be a place for the community to meet, make new connections, and rekindle old ones as well.

Since 2015, Deep South Pops makes all popsicles on-site. They only use natural ingredients when producing popsicles and use locally-sourced materials when possible. For instance, the Strawberry and basil popsicle, which is quite good, is made using freshly-cut strawberry and basil creating an amazing flavor. They also offer a selection of floats, including beer floats which can be made with the popsicles. There was a selection of 4 to 16 flavors anytime you walked into Deep South Pops. The rotating flavors included Watermelon Lime Mint, Lemon Lavender Buttermilk, Arnold Palmer, Creole Cream Cheesecake, and Lime Buttermilk. The rotation of flavor ensured that all the products used are in season. Jake’s repertoire of recipes comprised more than forty possible flavors, although the list evolved from time to time.

The most loved flavors are creole cream cheesecake and buttermilk (which taste a little bit like creamy vanilla). They source their creole cream cheese from a small dairy farmer in South Mississippi who has kept the tradition for many years. Jake’s favorite popsicle is the grapefruit rosemary which has quite a distinctive flavor and is very delicious.…

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Deep South Pops – Inspired from a Movie

Who could have thought that watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty could inspire the creation of Deep South Pops on North State Street? Not many, I suppose. When Jake Franklin first watched the movie, he was tired of dreaming and wanted more from life. He wanted to bring his dreams to life. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty provided Jake with the much-needed inspiration that moved him to take action and open Deep South Pops. Jake’s dream would soon take form around mid-2015. On June 15, 2015, Jake and Kristy opened Deep South Pops, at the intersection of North State Street and Euclid near Millsaps College. The new joint’s specialty was serving popsicles, coffee, gelato ice cream, and craft beer. Since opening the Joint in 2015, Deep South Joint’s amazing services have been available to Jackson residents every day from 6 am to 9 pm. What follows is an overview of Deep South Pops in Jackson, MS from when it was opened in 2015 to its closure four and a half years later.

Since Jake Franklin was a teenager, he dreamt of a business that he and his wife could run together and that once they had kids, the kids could get involved in. Before Deep South Pops, Jake worked in the telecommunications sector for a little over 17 years. One day Jake was at a graduation party for his sister and they had a movie playing on a big screen in the backyard. It was the Secret Life of Walter Mitty–the story of a guy who daydreams about doing these wonderful, fantastic, and heroic things but in real life he kind of leads a boring and complacent life. This moved Jake since it rang especially true with him. Not that he didn’t have a good life or anything, but in terms of his dreams of opening a business, he had let it drift away over the years.

The following day, Jake started trying to figure out what running a business entails, what it would take, and how to go about financing the business. After he moved from Birmingham to Jackson with his wife and kids, Jake finally decided to start Deep South Pops. When he told Kristy about the idea and they started talking about opening a business, Kristy was a bit hesitant and was worried about how things would change since Jake had been the sole provider of the family and Kristy had been at home for 8 years and homeschooling. She was curious about whether they would be able to fulfill both roles at Deep South Pops, and home in the same capacity as before. However, the idea of running a family business seemed exciting because Jake and Kristy liked working together, and had proved to be a great team ever since they came together.…