Terry "Pop" Tate, a fictional character in the fictional Archie universe, is the owner and manager of the Chok'lit Shoppe, a soda shop and frequent hangout of Archie's Gang. Pop Tate is the self-designated philanthropist for the Archie gang, hearing about their problems while serving ice cream and a variety of other goodies.
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Jughead Jones is Pop Tate's best customer. Tate constantly talks about how Jughead's appetite will provide for his retirement. Many stories reflect the fact that his customers, particularly Jughead, don't always pay their tab. Jughead has been known to run his tab as long as possible, and put off paying it until Pop refuses any more credit. In a comic centered around Pop, it was shown that he has a cousin named Russell, who runs a similar soda shop in the mountains. In the 2000s, his main rival was Segarini the pizza parlor owner, a minor but recurring character. Like many things in the Archie continuity, Pop Tate's history has inconsistencies. In one installment of the series, it was revealed that Pop's dad was the original "Pops," while as a child he served at his side under the moniker "Junior." But some stories say that Pop opened the business himself. In still another comic, he purchased it as a young man from the retiring owner McGurk. Some stories have given Pop's real first name as Bob, Harold, or Thomas, but the official Archie Comics website gives his name as Terry [1]. Pop's shop has changed little over the years, and it still boasts a jukebox and old-time soda fountain. Attempts at times for Pop to "modernize" the shop have all failed, and Pop's retains its old-fashioned ice cream parlor atmosphere. This has allowed him to capitalize on nostalgia. A fairly common plot is Pop Tate closing his shop and trying to sell it, which results in Archie and his friends scrambling to save it, generally by reminding everyone about the memories they have of the store, and telling them that losing the store would be horrible. The character of Pop Tate was inspired by the Greek immigrant owners of the three Haverhill, Massachusetts soda fountains frequented by Haverhill teenagers during the 1930s. These were the Crown Confectionery and the Chocolate Shop on Merrimack Street and the Tuscarora on Winter Street. In the late 1930s, Archie creator Bob Montana joined other teens at the Chocolate Shop counter where he made sketches on napkins or in the diary-sketchbook he kept of Haverhill happenings. This material served as a source for Montana when he launched Archie.
References
- Marcus, Jon. Unknown New England. Authorhouse, 2003.
