It was 2019 in Salt Lake City that Kait Ambrozik took that first, life-changing, dirty soda sip.
"We were travelling as a family for my brother's hockey and we came across Swig and I had a root beer with coconut cream," remembers Ambrozik.
"It was life changing because it led me to where I am today."
Where Ambrozik is today is on the precipice of opening BC's first and only, bricks and mortar dirty soda shop in Kelowna at 1326 Water St. in one of the storefronts in the bottom of the Delta Grand hotel.
It's called Sweet Streams and it opens Monday.
"It's an extension of my personality -- obsessing over even the smallest details, pink, bubbly, fun and nostalgic," she said.
The pink, bubbly and fun aspect of dirty sodas tends to attract what Ambrozik calls "the girlies."
But, as they drag along their boyfriends and husbands to try dirty sodas, everyone becomes a fan, no dragging required.
In case you've been living under a rock, we'll tell you what dirty soda is.
It's the trendy, customizable, highly Instagramable drink created by adding cream, flavour shots, fruit juice and-or fresh fruit to a pop or soda.
For instance, three of Sweet Streams' most popular dirty sodas are Dirty Dream (Dr. Pepper with coconut syrup, lime syrup and sweet cream), Dreamsicle (7UP with orange syrup, vanilla syrup and sweet cream) and Ambrozik's favourite Sweet Escape (Dr. Pepper with raspberry syrup and sweet cream).
Day Dreamer also looks and tastes awesome -- 7UP with non-alcoholic creme de menthe, vanilla syrup and sweet cream.
These dirty sodas come in a clear plastic cup (you have to see the colourful concoctions, after all) served over soft and chewable nugget ice with a pink straw.
The dirty in dirty soda doesn't mean anything filthy, untoward or naughty, but refers to how the pop becomes murky or muddy with the addition of flavoured syrups and cream.
A typical 24-ounce dirty soda with two flavoured syrup shots and sweet cream comes in at $7.50.
The aforementioned Swig shop where Ambrozik had her ah-ha moment helped shoot dirty sodas into the viral social media stratosphere.
Stars of the reality-TV hit show 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' would drop by Swig to load up on the dirties and the drama.
Viewers wanted their own dirty sodas and when they got them they Instagramed the heck out of them.
By the way, Latter-day Saints, for religious reasons can't have alcohol, coffee or tea, but they can indulge in soda and dirty soda.
Anyway, back to Ambrozik and Sweet Streams in Kelowna.
Sweet Streams is a play on 'sweet dreams' as well as a nod to 'streams' of flavoured syrups and sweet cream that go into making the ideal dirty soda.
It's the kind of dream that leads you to dirty soda for a supercool, sweet pick me up to sip while strolling downtown, on the beach, on the patio, on the boat, on a bike ride, while watching TV (preferably an episode of Mormon Wives).
Ambrozik's first iteration of Sweet Dreams is the pink, bubble trailer that started to pop up at farmers' markets and special events in the summer of 2024, introducing the dirty soda phenomena to Kelowna.
"I used to work in food and beverage and I've seen what works and what doesn't and what separates the good from the great," she said.
"Dirty soda is the great. Once people wrapped their heads around what they are and gave them a try they became obsessed very quickly."
During the winter off for the Sweet Dreams trailer, Ambrozik was constantly being direct messaged on social media with people asking where they could get their next dirty soda fix.
That got her to thinking that a bricks and mortar Sweet Streams store was needed.
The pink Sweet Streams trailer will continue to frequent farmers' markets and special events, also selling the now-famous chocolate strawberry cup.
The Sweet Streams store on Water St. -- also pink, inside and out -- will also sell fresh-baked pretzels and a rotating roster of desserts (think cookies, cakes and brownies) in addition to the namesake dirty sodas.
There, of course, will be many dirty sodas on the menu, but with a myriad of sodas, sparkling and still waters, fruit juices and sweet cream as well as more than 30 possible flavoured syrup shots, the customizable options are also limitless.
At 600 square feet, the store will be more of a grab-and-go place that happens to have a few chairs.
Proximity to Prospera Place arena means Sweet Streams is looking to have Kelowna Rockets hockey-themed dirty soda specials before and after games and musician-themed dirty soda specials before and after concerts and during the Canadian Country Music Awards being held in Kelowna next month.
Ambrozik knows she's onto a good thing with Sweet Streams.
Future plans could include more locations and franchising both the mobile trailer and bricks and mortar shop concepts of Sweet Streams.
