From the moment it opened in June 2022 in the UA area’s bustling Main Gate, PopHeads stood out.
Here in a small space at 845 E. University Blvd., in the shadow of college-kid-friendly clubs, sports bars and fast-casual restaurants, was a shop specializing in, of all things, popsicles.
Not your run-of-the-mill cornerstore popsicles, but artisan gelato treats that owner Jim Roberts handmade with fruit and funky combinations including the cinnamon-kissed Chillin’ Churro, the pineapple-centric Hot Sonoran Sunset and the sweet-and-spicy Scorpion.
When University of Arizona students were in town, business hummed.
When they left, it slowed to a crawl, Roberts said.
“Being by the college and selling a dessert item, I only sell anything worth a darn about six months a year,” he said Wednesday, nearly a week after he announced on social media that he planned to close the shop at the end of business Thursday, May 23. “It was promising while the kids were there, but when the kids were gone, it’s a ghost town down there. I don’t know how those businesses survive.”
The closing coincides with the end of the UA school year, which wrapped up with graduation two weeks ago.
In a Facebook post last week, Roberts said he was discounting his pops ($3) and lollipops ($1) in an effort to liquidate the inventory before he calls it quits. PopHeads will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday.
Roberts’ landlord, the Marshall Foundation, is early in the process of finding a new tenant and would not comment on the space, said Property Manager Alexis Ryland.
When he first came up with the popsicle concept, Roberts was considering opening closer to home in Oro Valley. But after he lost out on a possible location, his former business partner suggested Main Gate.
From the start, making ends meet was a struggle, he admitted.
“What we have here is an awesome concept, it just needs to be in a different location,” Roberts said. “If we would have started (in Oro Valley) like we originally planned, it would have been very successful.”
“The thing that upset me the most is that I had to let my employees go,” he added.
Roberts said he is semi-retiring and is selling his popsicle equipment. Anyone interested can email him at jim@popheads.cool.
