New Wichita soda shop accidentally becomes sock central, is packed with holiday shoppers
When Derek Sorrells opened his Sweet ‘n Saucy shop this summer at 535 W. Douglas in Delano, he said he would focus on selling unique bottled sodas, retro candy and the hottest of hot sauces.
But over the past couple of months — and especially with the arrival of the holiday shopping season — Sorrells’ shop has become known for something else.
Socks.
Specifically, as Sorrells calls them, “not-boring” socks.
On Saturday, Sorrells said, the store had its busiest day since it opened, and many of the shoppers had come in specifically to peruse his big wall of hundreds of pairs of printed and novelty socks, including lots boasting famous food brands. He also has dog socks, presidential socks, T.V. show socks, movie socks, video game socks, sports socks and more.
They all hang under a custom sign that reads “No Boring Socks.”
“It really has taken on a life of its own,” he said.
When he opened Sweet ‘n Saucy, Sorrells said, his offerings included about 20 different pair of novelty socks. They sold well, so Sorrells found more patterns to sell. Then more. Then more.
A few weeks ago, he posted a photo of his impressive sock section on Facebook, and it went crazy, earning more views than any other post he’d created since opening. People started coming in every day looking for socks.
He’s adding more socks this week, he said, and by the end, he should have about 600 styles.
Sorrell said that fun socks are a way that people can jazz up their outfits, even if they’re facing a dress code. His daughter, he said, is a waitress at a local restaurant where she’s required to wear all black, but every day, she adds some crazy socks to her outfit.
“Even when you have a required outfit you have to wear at work, whether you’re a server or whether you’re a businessman that has to wear a suit, you can have a little bit of flexibility with your socks, a little bit of fun,” he said.
So far, his best seller has been his sloth socks. People also like his Coca-Cola, Cheetos and Frosted Flakes socks. He also has socks decorated for fans of Pringles (salt and vinegar specifically), Pepsi, Space Invaders, Tapatio Hot Sauce, the band Kiss, “Rugrats,” “Back to the Future,” Bill Clinton, pugs, “Breaking Bad,” Rice Krispies cereal, popcorn, poop, Sriracha, SpongeBob, Maya Angelou, Gumby, Care Bears, Bob Ross and more.
Sorrells is running a sock sale through Christmas. Certain patterned socks are $6.99 a pair or two for $10. The socks that have licensed brands are more like $10-$13 a pair.
Now, a buddy is joking with Sorrells that he needs to change the name of the shop.
“He says the real name is Sweet ‘n Saucy ‘n Socky,” Sorrells said.
Other places to get fun socks in Wichita
Lucinda’s, 329 N. Mead
Best of Times, 6452 E. Central
The Third Planet, Towne East and Towne West
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 5:01 AM.
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