The Pop Shop opens in Medford

Several years ago, Connie Correia and her now former husband, Bill "Stink" Fisher, were looking to open a second Pop Shop, their Collingswood ode to the '50s soda fountain/diner.

They wanted to find another walkable small town with plenty of families nearby. They met builders Gary and Joanne Gardner, who had a line on the circa-1837 Farmers & Mechanics Bank building at the corner of Main and Bank Streets in Medford. They became partners. (The bank was known as Burlington County National Bank when it was chartered in 1865.)

A year and a half later, The Pop Shop (1 S. Main St., 609-975-6888) is up and running; grand opening will be Saturday, Feb. 28. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, till 10 p.m. Friday ands Saturday, and till 8 p.m. Sunday.

Collingswood's Spark Creative Group maintained the bubble-gum color scheme and retro feel of the original location on Haddon Avenue.

The menu is the same: 30 kinds of grilled cheese, a dozen varieties of pancakes, breakfast all day, burgers, blue plate entrees, salads and sandwiches, and soda-fountain favorites.

Some of the building's high points were the project's biggest challenges. The two-story front room was dramatic but would be an inefficient use of space. It was decided to build a steel mezzanine to create additional seating and private dining upstairs. There's a 1954 Seeburg jukebox up there now.

Then there was the vault, with its one-ton steel door and 18-inch concrete walls. Through consultation with kitchen designer Judy Spielman, the vault was cut apart to create a wait station and the soda fountain. The rear of the safe leads into the kitchen, an efficient route for staff.

In the old days, tellers would have to step down to work inside the drive-through window, at the rear corner of the building. To gain more kitchen space, workers filled in the area and leveled the floor.

> See the photo gallery not only for current photos but for a few "before" photos from fall 2013.