The HOP Shops in Northern Kentucky are offering more than just a convenience store to get gas and buy snacks.
Crowds of customers are hopping to the shops because they’re curious about the big red buttons in the bathrooms.
The funny is there's a sign above the buttons just inside the doors that clearly states, in capital letters, “Do Not Push This Button.” But underneath is a picture of the chain’s mascot, Hopper the Frog, and he is winking, implying that the rule is meant to be broken.
Mary Moss, the manager at the HOP Shops in Walton, said people often come out of the bathroom and tell her they resisted pushing the button even though they were tempted. She tells them to go back in. “We want you to push it!” she said.
One push sets the balls in motion—mirrored disco balls mounted on the ceiling. The main light goes off and colored spotlights come on, sending thousands of light spots spinning across the walls and stalls, ceiling, and sinks. A song from the disco era comes through a speaker. At the Walton store, patrons hear “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. At the Florence store on Mt. Zion Road, Bruce Springsteen belts out “Dancing in the Dark.”
Customers are having a ball with the disco bathroom experience and usually burst into laughter and pull out their mobile phones to record a video.
HOP Shops are owned and operated by Valor Oil, a company based in Owensboro, Kentucky. The company ventured into convenience store business in 2018 after buying HOP Shops from another oil company.
It was the company’s Vice President of Retail Marketing, Damon Bail, who thought of the quirky idea of turning the stores’ bathrooms into tiny dance spaces according to Ann Gilbert, Valor Oil’s manager of human resources.
“He was trying to figure out something that would make us a destination,” Gilbert said. “One day he told us he saw something about a disco bathroom in Canada. We liked the idea, but just thought it would probably cost too much.”
But Bail wouldn’t give up and eventually found a contractor who figured out how to make it happen for a reasonable price. The first disco bathrooms opened in February 2023 at a store just off Interstate 71 in Verona.
The bathrooms were an instant hit, with thousands of videos being shared on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
Gilbert said the company realized travelers have many choices for gas and snacks at interstate exits. It’s good business to give people a good place to “do their business.” After spending time in the bathroom, most people also spend some money at the checkout counter.
Less than a year after, six HOP Shops food marts had been renovated to include disco bathrooms. Five of them are in Northern Kentucky, one is in Maineville, Ohio, near King’s Island Amusement Park. And there are many more to come according to Gilbert.
Store managers are seeing the popularity of these disco bathrooms. One manager reported a tourist from Italy who told her he was driving across the country and made it a point to map out a route that went past her store. Even a sixty-year-old woman who came out of the restroom said that it was the best day of her life!
Some are even making a trip to visit all of the HOP Shops with disco bathrooms because it's making a lot of people happy.
HOP Shops have made a name for themselves as places where you can disco down in the bathroom. Just make sure that when you’re dancing in the dark, there’s always the chance someone could open the door and wonder what’s going on. Just don’t be caught with your pants down unless that's what you want!
Here are the locations of HOP Shops with Disco Bathrooms:
- 2832 Verona-Mudlick Rd., Verona : “Stayin’ Alive“
- 8063 US 42, Florence: “Diamonds“
- 195 Mary Grubbs Highway, Walton: “Time of My Life“
- 3213 Highway 227, Carrollton: “Dancing Queen“
- 3189 Western Row Road, Maineville, Ohio: “Party in the USA“
- 430 Mt. Zion Road, Florence: “Dancing in the Dark“
Source: Fox56News