Katoura and Michael Hyatt did not spend years waiting for the perfect moment to start South Side Soda & Grill. An idea for a dirty soda tent caught their attention, and seven days later they were in business.

By Sara Turney

Some business ideas spend years in notebooks before anyone acts on them.

South Side Soda & Grill took seven days.

Katoura Hyatt had been watching dirty soda businesses gain popularity when an idea started taking shape. The concept was playful, customizable and well suited to the festival world. She turned to her husband, Michael, with a question.

What if they started one themselves?

A week later, they did.

There is something wonderfully uncomplicated about that beginning. Katoura and Michael saw an idea they liked, believed they could put their own personality into it and got to work.

What started as a dirty soda tent has since grown into South Side Soda & Grill, bringing together creative drinks and food in a business built for people who enjoy having choices.

The Hyatts may have started quickly, but what they have built since then has required the same things every small business eventually asks for: consistency, creativity, patience and a willingness to keep learning.

Fortunately, they seem to enjoy the ride.

First, let's talk about dirty soda

If you have not ventured into the world of dirty sodas yet, South Side Soda & Grill gives you a good excuse.

The idea starts with a familiar soda and turns it into something more customized with added flavors and other ingredients. Instead of simply choosing a bottle or fountain drink, customers get to play with combinations and find something that suits them.

That ability to make the drink your own is part of the appeal.

It also creates the kind of menu people want to come back and explore. Finding one combination you love does not necessarily settle the question because another one is waiting to be tried.

For South Side Soda & Grill, the drinks gave Katoura and Michael their entry into the business, but the “Grill” in the name matters too.

They have built the concept to offer customers something to eat alongside those drinks, turning the original soda idea into a fuller stop at an event.

That combination works particularly well in the festival setting. A customer can come over because the drink caught their attention and leave having found something for lunch or dinner too.

Seven days from idea to opening

There is a temptation to make entrepreneurship sound as though every decision requires months of strategic planning.

Sometimes it does.

Sometimes Katoura asks Michael if he wants to start a dirty soda business and, one week later, they are operating one.

The speed of the launch is one of Katoura's favorite details about their story because it captures something about how the Hyatts approach opportunity.

They were willing to try.

That does not mean everything was instantly figured out. Starting a business and building one are very different things.

The first requires enough confidence to begin.

The second requires showing up after the excitement of beginning has worn off.

South Side Soda & Grill has continued developing beyond that original tent, learning from customers and from the events where Katoura and Michael do business.

What started as a quick decision has become something they are serious about growing.

Festivals gave the idea room to grow

South Side Soda & Grill makes sense in a festival environment.

Dirty sodas are naturally social. People see someone walking by with an interesting drink and want to know what it is. Friends compare combinations. Kids and adults can both get involved in deciding what sounds good.

Then there is the food.

Together, the soda and grill sides of the business give the Hyatts an opportunity to serve customers who may have stopped for one thing and decided they wanted another.

Katoura enjoys the festival experience for more than sales.

Events put South Side Soda & Grill in front of new people, and those interactions give the business a chance to become part of someone's day. A first time customer might become someone who looks for them at the next event.

That is how a mobile business builds familiarity.

There is no permanent storefront waiting in the same place every morning. Customers have to remember the name and recognize the setup when they see it again.

For Katoura and Michael, every event is another opportunity to make that happen.

Learning what customers want

One of the advantages of working directly in front of customers is immediate feedback.

People tell you what they like.

They come back for the things they love.

They ask for combinations you may not have considered.

Sometimes they surprise you completely.

That interaction has helped South Side Soda & Grill continue developing from its original idea.

Katoura and Michael are not simply selling a concept they created once and decided never to touch again. They are learning what works while they operate it.

That willingness to adapt is especially important for a business built around customization.

A dirty soda menu invites creativity by design.

Customers are part of the fun.

Building the next version

South Side Soda & Grill may have begun in seven days, but Katoura is realistic about what it takes to grow beyond the beginning.

Access to capital and getting the business in front of more people are among the challenges the Hyatts continue to navigate.

Those are familiar concerns for independent businesses, particularly mobile operations trying to expand their reach while continuing to invest in equipment, inventory and the countless practical pieces required to serve customers well.

Katoura and Michael are still looking forward.

They want more people to discover South Side Soda & Grill, and they want the business to continue developing as those opportunities arrive.

That makes their beginning feel even more appropriate.

They did not wait until they could predict every step.

They started.

Then they learned.

Now they are building from what those first seven days set in motion.

Come find your combination

There is an easy way to approach South Side Soda & Grill for the first time.

Have some fun with it.

Look at the soda options. Ask about the combinations. Try something you would not normally order. Find out what Katoura and Michael recommend, then decide whether you are going to listen to them or build something entirely different.

That is part of what makes dirty soda entertaining in the first place.

There is no reason everybody has to order the same thing.

And while you are there, do not overlook the grill side of the business. South Side Soda & Grill has grown beyond the drink concept that first inspired Katoura and Michael, giving customers a reason to stop for more than something to sip while walking around an event.

The Hyatts are still writing the larger story of where the business goes next.

They have time.

After all, the first chapter only took seven days to write.

Meet South Side Soda & Grill: Dirty Sodas, Good Food and an Idea That Took Seven Days to Become a Business