2019 has been a good year for POP ROC. There’s been a lot of changes and going into 2020 we want to share with you our vision for an even better experience both in and out of POP ROC.

POP ROC is a variant in the world. It’s something different and rare. As long as we maintain and stay true to our mission and core values, it will remain that way for a very long time.

Our mission is to bring childlike faith, wonder, and joy to our community.

Our core values will remain the same for 2020. However, there will be more focus on them than ever before. The core values that drive us are:

Fun.

Creativity.

Community.

Safety.

Our core focus is service. Real, caring, SERVICE. 

Not just “Welcome to POP ROC, how may I help you”. Service in and out of POP ROC. Serving our guests, neighbors, community and our city as a whole. 

When we first started our tag line was “Comics, Caffeine, Culture” or “the 3 C’s”. Since then we have evolved into some more c letter words. Like Cereal, Collectibles & Cartoons. By far, the biggest is Community.

Now more than ever we believe it’s time to focus and get even more tuned in to what is working and remove or “tweak” what isn’t. 

Let’s start with COMICS. 

Comics have always been at the core of the experience at POP ROC. We never wanted to take readers and collectors away from any of the other comic shops in town. Nothing we do here is about taking away from other already established businesses. What we do believe is that there is a void in the comic book world where families and mostly children can come and enjoy learning about and reading comics. A place where you can pull up a chair, sit down with others and enjoy the comic book culture we love so much. That is as true today as it was almost 2 years ago. We also believe that the comic book store as you know it, both from the way you experience it and to the behind the scenes ordering and logistics, need of an overhaul. 

There is a lot of opportunity. 

So that brings us to how we will be adjusting our comic offerings in 2020. We will no longer be carrying as many new titles as we have in the past. The amount of comics in each title we carry will also slim down. However, we will now be carrying more graphic novels, hardcover books and local comic creators. We will be actively and diligently pursuing a new and never before seen ordering system that includes weekly pull lists for our more active and avid comic fans. While we might not be able to have so many titles on the shelves, we can still order everything you like and read. The addition of graphic novels is one we are really looking forward to. So many people come in and want to get back into reading or start for the first time. Graphic novels offer both of those people a great option. It also allows those interested in getting caught up on a storyline or back issues the option without having to hunt down several back issues. We’re very excited about this option. 

We will also continue our partnership and donate our back issues and now, graphic novels, to our friends at The Golisano Children’s Hospital. We are also looking to expand our reach. We are looking for other outlets to donate. Bringing heroes to the children and caregivers in need will always be a top priority for us. 

Lastly, for comics, we will be starting some new, fun, interactive options. Our Comic Discovery Program will now be $10 a month or $100 for the year. You will be able to still enjoy reading all the books we have in-house without having to buy them. You will also receive 10% off everything you do purchase with your membership. That includes food, drink and merch. We will be hosting a “Comic Creators” series which will help people explore how to make their own comics or just how comics are made. We will be looking at “Comic...Book Clubs” for comic fans to get together and discuss what’s happening in their favorite comics while exploring new comics. As always, we will remain a safe and engaging place for comic fans to come and talk comics everyday, all day. 

Now off to CEREAL.

We have been the leaders in this space for a while now. Cereal has been a hit since we opened almost 2 years ago. People LOVE coming in and enjoying our cereal selection and the nostalgic feeling that you get while enjoying a bowl. Cereal has been good to us all. We will continue to serve cereal and keep revolving seasonal options. However, like everything else, we must continue to evolve to meet the needs of our guests and community. When we first opened there was discussion of other food offerings. We carried doughnuts for a while. We even served the first cereal infused waffle well over a year ago. We have been having fun with our food offerings for a while. Most recently we added cereal infused waffles in 3 different varieties to the menu full-time. Some of the favorites have been the Cinnamon Toast Crunch infused, maple bacon waffle & the Strawberry Shortcake. Our chicken & waffle is getting attention from folks from all around and we sell out almost every time we offer it. Have you tried the “Philly Cheese Steak” wafflewhich yet? It’s off the hook!!!! The new cereal-waffle cake is a must for any party. We also added ice cream to the menu and is the main ingredient in our amazing cereal milkshakes. We have been playing around with many other exciting recipes in the kitchen or “laboratory” as we like to call it. 

Our goal is to offer a new breakfast, lunch and evening menu. We want to continue to be a casual and exciting experience for everyone. We believe food is fun. It has the power to bring people together. Bringing people together is the most exciting and important part of what we do here at POP ROC. Food is as much a part of pop culture as anything else we have to offer. So, expect more food in 2020. 

COLLECTIBLES, ARTISTS & MERCH

Collectibles are a big part of why POP ROC was started and they remain “at the heart” of what POP ROC is. We will continue to have Funko Pops come in often and we’re also throwing around the idea of carrying PEZ, blind boxes and other fun, smaller collectible options. Let us know what you would like to see and I’m sure we can order it. 

One of the things we are really excited about is carrying more stuff from local artists. That means more collaborations for swag too. There is so much talent here is Rochester it blows our minds sometimes. We would like to be much more invested into our local artists and art community, than ever before. The stand outs are the ones that are invested in us. We see so many talented people enjoying our place all the time. It goes back to our core values, especially creativity & community. So expect to see much more of the amazing local art and artists the ROC has to offer. Also if you are an artist and think POP ROC would be a great place for you to show and maybe even offer your stuff, please reach out. 

CAFFEINE

The Death Wish will still be flowing! 

This past year we have seen a bunch of changes in our caffeine program. As I write this we are a week away from launching Rochester’s and more so, the East Avenue’s first sober bar crawl. Our creative and caffeinated drinks have been a fun and unique way for us to offer alternatives to the community. Both in non-alcoholic drinks and caffeinated options. Hot and cold. There’s some more fun and creativity to be had. We’re sure if that. Expect it. 

Thanks for taking the time to get tuned in to our vision for 2020. We look forward to serving you and our community for this year and many more.