Pop-A-Top

Best ginger ale selection in the entire tri-​county area. Although, I wish they sold toilet paper and cat food. All the staff at Pop-​A-​Top have a heart of gold, love them all.

What a real city «bodega» can and should be. The best bagels in Gainesville. Vegan or vegetarian? No problem, there are sweet and savory food options for all. Don’t dig the bar scene? Drop in and serve yourself a reasonably priced beer on the patio. Break your shades on the ride downtown or forget your umbrella? They’ve got you covered. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, after hours, it’s always good. Lest I leave out the great music, played at a volume that won’t upset Granny when you stop in after yoga for vegan tofu bánh mìs.

Pop-​A-​Top, I love you. I get iced coffee here almost 5 days a week, because my office is a just a few blocks away. The cashiers don’t, like, celebrate you when you walk in or anything, but they are friendly enough and will remember you if you’re a regular. They have really been upping their lunch game lately. The BBQ kale salad is bomb, as is the soba noodle salad, and tofu pad thai. They’re all made right down the street at The Wooly.
Thanks, Pop-​A-​Top, for always satisfying my breakfast/​lunch/​snack-​time cravings!

Best «Convenient Store,» around. They have a little bit of everything. Some might call the place «hipster,» or «gitchy,» and in a lot of ways they’d be right, but that would leave out the actual charm of the place.
They have great pastries brought in fresh every morning. Sandwiches and snacks brought in fresh daily, and now they’re doing pre-​prepared dinners which from my experience so far are really good.
They also have one of the better Craft Beer selections in town, though some things tend to sit on the shelf for a while so check the dates on stuff that doesn’t age well. They also tend to ebb and flow when it comes to how often they get new stuff, or at least when it comes to «one-​offs.»
Service is always great.

I am an avid Unilocal user. Anytime I’m looking for a new place to check out, whether it’s around the area or on a road trip, I look to Unilocal for ideas. This place was one that stood out, and after walking into I am very happy that I did. I drove up with a friend for an appt nearby and was wanting somewhere to eat and also grab some bottles of craft beer. It was honestly hard to choose what to pick to eat. There were fresh salads, sandwiches, wraps, etc to choose from. I ended up having a vegetarian Cobb salad which was very fresh and really good. I also had a root beer, which in itself was difficult to choose just one since there are many different kinds from everywhere. I left there with a full and happy stomach as well as some bottles of craft beer. I would definetly recommend this place for anyone looking for something different and really good.

I cannot believe how rude the people were at Pop-​A-​Top. This is the third time I’ve been to the store and EVERY time I have had terrible service. This time, I was trying to purchase ice cream near closing time. There was a line with two groups ahead of me and right when I got to the front, they closed the store. I asked them if I could still purchase some ice cream since I had been in line for 20 minutes. The store employees said no, because they had closed 5 minutes ago, even though I had been waiting in line for 20 minutes. The people were so rude to me and this is not a new thing. Every time I’ve visited the store, the service has been terrible. I will NEVER shop here again, because I leave so infuriated every time. This is the worst service in Gainesville. I would never recommend anyone visit this store ever. Avoid at all costs.

You could not have, in a MILLION years, told me that a «convenience store» was something to be loved and adored. Dirty, cold, and clammy places with miserable people who are only there so they can get somewhere else. Enter the vibrant and eclectic Pop-​A-​Top to remind us all that a store can have a STORY!
The Space
Finger on the pulse of downtown at University Ave. and Main St., PaT’s soft, baby blue exterior beckons pedestrians, cyclists, and those by way of car to come in and grab… pretty much anything under the sun. As soon as you walk through the door a display case of freshly-​baked goodies catches your eyes, and the inside extends with several coolers, shelves, and two bar areas for grabbing one of their many savory bites (or, if preferred, copping a cocktail).
The Service
«What service?» you ask as you read on. It is a store, right, so you just meander through the place, grab your goods, and flee? I happen to work very close to PaT and it took no time before several of the staff began to greet me warmly, though my morning mood usually improves only AFTER a dose of caffeine from these kind souls. My frequency does not really make me special, though, as I have seen dozens of patrons come and go with friendly farewells as they head back to their own workdays.
And since this convenience store happens to have a few things that do actually require service, you will be happy to know these items take mere minutes, letting you take 90% of your lunch break to actually ENJOY a break!
The Selection
You will be hard-​pressed to NOT find SOMETHING in this store that catches your fancy, makes you giddy, or downright gets you excited. For a store, that screams «as good as it gets». Vegan options, sweets, sustenance, snacks, drinks… practically a trap for someone as indecisive as myself.
Here’s a fun laundry list of things you can find: (fresh-​basked) bagels, bagel melts, in-​house paninis, vegan-​friendly tofu pesto hoagies, the most incredible, delectable types of hot pockets ever, all-​craft everything (sodas, beers, liquors), high-​quality desserts (courtesy of a local restaurant’s talented baker). You want a from-​scratch donut that side-​steps tasting like cardboard? They have your back (and they might even cut into one just to let you sample it)!
Final Thoughts
They are open late, taste absolutely great, and have anything you could need any day of the week. Did I mention they support a local coffee company (Sweetwater) and actively help advertise the area’s music and entertainment events? Talk about what a business can do to make a difference and really be a part of its community.
Here’s to you, Pop-​A-​Top, for being so much more than convenient (but also very much that too)!

Sometimes a man just wants to dive lips-​first into a frosty craft beer. And at times, those «sometimes» call for the complexity of wintergreen, vanilla, allspice, amber resin and whatever the hell else exists in the sweet, sweet elixir that is root beer.
Pop-​A-​Top has root beer. They have all the root beer. Aside from personal favorites like Virgil’s, Maine Root and (now) Abita, there chills two full cooler racks dedicated to rare and small batch sodas. Hipster membership confirmed — this really had me slack-​jawed with boyish delight. Good thing I had the adult wallet, though, as single serving bottles ran $ 2-​$ 2.50.
Baked goods were scant in the waxing hours of the evening, but the locally-​focused taps were still being pulled and the selections of candies, veg-​friendly prepped meals and artisan chips stayed nicely stocked throughout their open later hours.
Like your chips down and dirty? Andy Capp’s Hot Fries are well represented.
Dope store of convenience geared to the bearded and plaid adorned. Or me, because I wear my tight jeans on the inside.

Great little bodega in the heart of Gainesville where they have a great selection of sodas and beer. They also have wonderful sandwiches, muffins, empanadas and other tasty treats.

This place is awesome. Seriously– if you’re in the area, do yourself a favor and POP in here! (See what I did there?)
They have a very eclectic selection of beverages (alcoholic and non) as well as snacks, pastries, and quick lunch foods. There is also an awesome bar connected to it one door down (see photo). The bar is yet to be named… But I’ve heard a few of the ideas and my favorite one that I heard was «Bar Noir». So that’s what I’m going to call it. If you go to Bar Noir be sure to get this delicious cocktail called «the social club». It’s pretty sweet but AMAZING! I’m not much of a cocktail connoisseur but hot damn!
Seriously– go here.

Great sandwiches, great beer selection, great prices. The perfect little spot for a quick downtown lunch.

I strongly disagree with the previous negative review. Pop-​A-​Top is one of the best little stores in Gainesville and it is often overlooked. They have a wide selection of neat candy bars and snacks that you can’t really find anywhere else. Their grab and go lunches are unique and fresh. I had a salad with tempeh chunks, goji berries, and seeds; it was lovely. There is always a wide selection of scrumptious baked goods. I’ve had the mini loaves to berry cake and almond cake; they were fantastic!

Seriously? One of the best corner, prime real estate locations in the whole city and they really waste it. What you might expect is this cool, retro corner store or fountain café… but as you walk up you have a huge hint as how that won’t be the case. They have beer sign int he windows and it’s PBR. Really? Instead of advertising a local business you go and try to be hipster like.
Inside, you find a basic convenience store with very little selection. They mainly focus on beer. Way to class up the space! Is this the best you could do?

It seems like this place has changed quickly since they opened– I wish I hadn’t waited so long to try it again! When they first opened up they had mostly packaged stuff/​slightly over-​priced for the convenience with a cool selection, but not awesome enough to compel me to buy beer/​wine/​snacks here over a local supermarket. Now they’ve added a case of prepared lunch food (sandwiches, salads, etc.), a case of fresh baked goods, a case of hot breakfast sandwiches, and of course hot and iced coffee. They seem to be filling a previously unoccupied niche downtown.

Pop-​A-​Top is a little store that went in where an urban streetwear store was for years. What’s important though is this: it’s run by the same people who have The Top restaurant, so those salads, sandwiches and baked good (cupcakes!) are made at The Top and just as good as their food over there. They also sell a good selection of beer and even some hard liquor – even a good selection of bourbons, actually. And they’re open late many nights.

I’ve only been in Gainesville for 3 days and I’ve been in here twice. Telling.
The first time, I wasted 15 minutes browsing their drinks selections. Their soda and juice is fun and intriguing– lots of interesting choices. The booze section… is even better, obviously, just because it’s booze, but also because it’s massive. It’s a nice selection of local and national craft brews and a few fun features like 12-​packs of Flat Tire and series off neat varieties, like one series aged in fun ways (Bordeaux barrels? Yes.)
The snack selection is bomb. This would be a great place to have a drink with a salty snack. From what I could tell, there were a few seats along a counter for immediate consumption. Looking forward to working through their choices here.
Second trip was to grab a sandwich. I got the veg club, which was huge for $ 6. Not amazing tasting, but good enough for the convenience and price. Want to try the Bahn Mi next time.

Super-​charming, retro space full of snacks and drinks and things you didn’t know you wanted before! I liked the selection of interesting, hard-​to-​find sodas and was particularly impressed with the small but well-​curated choice of beers. Locally-​made baked goods are available along with freshly brewed coffee for a morning snack or afternoon pick-​me-​up, providing a useful mix of products that’s above and beyond the typical convenience store but is exactly what downtown has needed for years!

This place is brand new from the folks at The Top and brings the bodega concept to downtown G’ville. Food, drink, ice cream, snacks, convenience items, beer, wine, liquor, all in one spot. Very cool addition to downtown! Think high end convenience store with a great vibe and good prices: can of Coke = $.75. But also 12 types of ginger ales, fresh baked goods, and so much more.