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Clinton's Soda Fountain

3.9 (48 reviews)
Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
Updated a few days ago

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Cup of Chocolate Chip
Wanda H.

Stopped in for an after lunch ice cream snack. Hubs and I shared a chocolate chip cup and it was very good. The service wasn't the greatest, a bunch of kids that probably could've used some adult supervision. It's a neat historic place.

Banana Split
Travis T.

A historical landmark of Independence, MO. The inside reminds me of an old-school diner and has some old-fashioned candy and other merch for sale. The phosphate reminds me of the cream soda when I was younger. However, the banana split tasted like it was store-bought.

a cold beverage
Ralphie S.

While giving my out-of-town sister-in-law the tour of Independence, we stopped in Clinton's for a refreshment on a hot August afternoon. My wife and her sister each ordered a bottled Polly's Pops Root Beer which happens to be bottled just a block away. I splurged and had a Root Beer Float. The root beer was made the old fashioned way with flavoring syrup and seltzer water from the fountain head on the bar. A great treat. Clinton's besides being a soda fountain, they are also part gift shop with a lot of historical photos; harkening back to the days when Harry Truman worked in this space when it was a pharmacy and a soda fountain. My only complaint is that the young lady working would have been more engaging. When you work in a business that caters to tourists you should really try and give them a few tidbits of info about the history or menu. She just wanted to get back to her reading ASAP.

Jim H.

This is where Harry Truman had his first job. Today, it's still a traditional soda fountain/ice cream joint and they serve a great chocolate phosphate (lots of chocolate flavor). The place is a real throw back to the old soda fountains of years ago. The menu is strictly ice cream and all the variations of what you can do with ice cream -- cones, dishes, sundaes, shakes, floats, banana splits, etc. If you love ice cream or chocolate phosphates -- this is the place for you.

Cherry phosphate
Cathryn G.

How adorable is this place? I'm a history teacher and I actually teach my students about the old American Soda Fountain that 99.9% of them have never experienced. Well, I got to and it was super neat. I stumbled upon this place while driving around Independence. And as it turns out Harry Truman used to work here (History nerd score!). I wasn't really that hungry though the sundaes and floats looked awesome. So I just ordered a phosphate (homemade soda). It was super fun to watch them make it and it only cost $2. I loved my cherry soda and I loved my journey back to early 20th century America.

Tux sundae.
Marcella N.

It's like a trip back in time! Located in Independence, it has a small town feel. The staff here are friendly and will confide in you about their day, and answer any questions you have. It's hard to find a place with old fashioned phosphate soda. It's smooth and delicious. Their ice cream is great too! We shared a tux sundae and it was delicious. Favorite place to go in this area!

Menu
Kimberly G.

This place is a must if you are in the Independence square. Just going in to look around is super neat, it is like you walk into a time capsule and go back in time. The setup is super cute, and Harry S. Truman used to work there when it was a pharmacy! They have a ton of ice cream sundae amd soda options. Of course it being a soda/ice cream place, I had to try out a float. I ordered a cream soda float, and it was delicious! My husband ordered a grasshopper sundae and he also enjoyed that. My little brother got a root beer float, and he just enjoyed the place a ton. There was a little gift shop section and he picked out a mini coloring book and pencils.

Rhonda S.

Here's Your Scoop, you kind of bombed out on me today. I was looking forward to a scoop of Red Velvet Ice Cream, drove all the way out there, and you were closed, with a sign on the door. Probably my fault, I should've waited, and called, but hours are hours. Which bought me back to Independence. I'd driven by Clinton's thousands of times. This time, I decided to stop in. It is a nice little old time-y ice cream shop, that also sells trinkets, and candy. There is a full espresso menu, with hot chocolate, and coffee. It offers a choice of sandwiches, as well. For ice cream, it serves flavors of Well's Blue Bunny. It has a number of sundaes, and banana splits, waffle cones and regular cones. The bakery items were yummy. I found the brownie to be a bit dry. I also bought a 7 layer cookie bar. it was good, and much easier than making one myself. The ice cream sundae is served in a tall ice cream dish. I had a marshmallow sundae. It was really good. I want to try an ice cream soda, so I will, eventually. My mouth was watering, and I didn't frankly know which to try. On the walls are memorabilia from Independence, and President Truman. It's nice that Independence has this little piece of history to step into.

Ice cream case
Aimee A.

Great experience if you are ever in Independence, Missouri! Working soda fountain that has a cute gift shop area too! Famed for being a former workplace of President Truman. Get a float! I asked for popular variations and the soda jerk (ha!) had some good suggestions. I got a black cherry float with vanilla ice cream. Very affordable and quick. You can walk around the square after as well. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Soda and some Polly Pop sodas.
Ryan H.

Such a fun place to visit. Clean and great atmosphere. Clinton's is like going back in time to the soda fountain in the early days of Independence. Our server was so nice and friendly. I had a chocolate cream soda! I also learned about Polly Pop and we bought some bottles to take with us! Fun flavors and more exciting than Coke or Pepsi products! They have a nice gift shop!

Ice cream sundae
Terri C.

My 1st time here and I will be definitely be back. There are so many things I need to try. Service was the best! The place was the cutest soda shop I've seen in awhile. My friends kids were with me and they thoroughly enjoyed it. And that's saying alot trying to entertain a teenager, lol. The 5 yr old of course, loved picking out his own ice cream, toppings, etc. And getting it all over his face. I also let them pick their own flavor of Polly Pop, the extra treat . Drinking from a glass bottle, after trying to figure out how to open it, . They both loved that also. The history of the soda is interesting. Check it out.

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3 months ago

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8 years ago

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9 years ago

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7 years ago

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3 years ago

Lovely historic vibe. Delicious ice cream. Clean and a great way to look around at experience a step back in time.

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7 years ago

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16 years ago

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8 years ago

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4 years ago

Great throwback to the past! Love the soda fountain. Kids love it here, as well as those lookin for sweet treats you had as a kid

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4 years ago

Step back in time, sit back, and think of the old days on the Square. If the walls could talk, you would hear all the gossip!

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16 years ago

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9 years ago

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12 years ago

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15 years ago

Neat soda fountain in a beautiful building. The price seemed a bit steep for a small chocolate malt ($5+ with tax) but it was a nice stop.

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13 years ago

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9 years ago

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8 years ago

Very Cute old timey soda fountain. Cleared are super nice and the ice cream shakes are beyond awesome!

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13 years ago

I love the fact that this place makes soda the old fashion way. The Root Beer and Sarsaparilla tastes like it should not out of a can!

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Review Highlights - Clinton's Soda Fountain

And as it turns out Harry Truman used to work here (History nerd score!).

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This candy store is located in City Market. It is full of several different kinds of candies,…read morechocolates, gummies, toffies and so much more. Alongside popular brands, they also have lesser known candy brands too. One section of the store also souvenir items like KC apparels, magnets, stickers, key chains and other accessories. Whole store is mostly clean and organized. The store has some fascinating items like Dragon made out of gummy beans, toilet bowls filled with chocolate boxes and a Harry Porter wizard status. Prices are decent for a tourist area location. There was one associate in the store helping customers with products and checkouts.

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The Candy Wizard - Sour selection

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When we would travel, we would always stop at its sugar location because we did not have one close…read moreto us. My children love coming here and seeing all the nostalgic candy from their parent's childhood and even their own. This is a great store if you have someone that's hard to shop for. You can grab a box of nostalgic candy from the year they were born. The service here is great and they are always really helpful. And the store itself is nicely, decorated and organized.

We walked into this candy shop because we like to see unique candies. This place had a bunch of…read moreunique candies to try. We looked at some foreign candy and drinks. They had a sour patch kids flavor drink we had to try. We hadn't seen it anywhere else before. One thing about candy shops, they normally have center displays with chewy candies you can buy by the weight. This allows you to try a bunch of different things in one place. This is the option we went with in addition to the sour patch kids soda. The layout is nice and they really do have options I haven't seen other places. The decor pops and it inviting. Everything is clean and seems well taken care of. The employee was very helpful, a little too much since he kept asking us if we had questions, but we were the only patrons in the store. Overall, it was a more unique shop then some of the stores you might shop in, but still commercialized. If you like candy though, its definitely worth a try. Oh.. and the sour patch kids soda was waaaaaay to sweet. It wasn't sour at all. I thought it would be more like flavored lemonade with a sour punch, but that's not a comment on the shop itself.

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IT'SUGAR - As a former healthcare worker, I got a good chuckle seeing this.

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Clinton's Soda Fountain - icecream - Updated May 2026

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