Yes, you read that headline correctly.
Kentucky-based HOP Shops, a part of Valor Oil, recently hosted a wedding in its viral disco-themed bathroom. For that to make any sense, we will need to take a look back at HOP Shops’ incredibly successful, virally famous and bizarrely effective disco bathroom story.
How it Began
In January 2023, HOP Shops Vice President of Retail Operations and Marketing Damon Bail was asked by owner Gary Emmick to make HOP Shops a “destination.”
“(Gary) said, ‘Damon, you run good stores. Service is good, stock levels are good. It’s really neat, clean, but we’ve got to be known as a destination,” Bail recalled.
So, Bail started brainstorming. He came up with an idea to drive foot traffic and make HOP Shops a place that road trippers, locals and travelers alike would seek out specifically.
Inspired by him and his wife’s affinity for speakeasies, Bail decided to incorporate something similar at his shop.
“So, what happened was we did a remodel for a kitchen program, and I had been working closely with the construction guy. I had crafted up this idea about a disco bathroom,” he noted.
The idea was that the bathroom would feature a button on the well that reads “Do Not Push This Red Button,” along with a winking image of the HOP Shops mascot, HOPPER. Naturally, customers would feel inclined to disregard HOPPER’s advice.
When the button is pressed, the bathroom lights shut off and a disco ball lights up the room, while the Bee Gees “Stayin Alive” blasts throughout the stalls.
Bail mentioned that he knew the plan would be approved because of the freedom that the company gave him to be creative, but he decided that he would rather ask for forgiveness than permission.
“I was so terrified that they weren’t going to like the idea. I knew we were spending about $200,000 on a food program, remodeling the store. So, since I’d been working with our construction guys, I said, ‘Listen, put these two disco bathrooms in there. Play a song. As soon as the song is over, have him cut the music.’ He looked at me like I had 16 eyeballs,” Bail joked.
The next day, Bail submitted the bid for the remodeled kitchen at the Verona HOP Shop and got it approved, but he snuck in the cost of the disco bathroom on another line item so it wouldn’t get noticed.
Bail went back into work and presented his idea, uncertain of how it would be received. When he presented the idea, everyone in the room erupted in laughter. Naturally, the first question was, “How are you going to pay for that?”
Little did they know that the $13,000 it cost to do both bathrooms, at $6,500 a piece, was already in the books.
Catching Like Wildfire
Fast forward a few months, and the disco bathroom is a viral sensation, amassing more than 150 million views across all social media platforms.
Thanks to the power of TikTok, the disco bathroom online impressions went from 500,000 to 20 million in just three days.
On X, formerly Twitter, 12 million people engaged with the story in only two days.
It reached such heights that it even came across Jimmy Fallon’s desk, as the Tonight Show host featured the story in a recent monologue.
“They would’ve let me do it anyway, but I didn’t take any chances. I just baked it into the invoice,” said Bail. “And (the Verona HOP Shop), honestly, prior to the food remodel and then the disco bathroom, it was probably our sixth or seventh most profitable store. Now, depending on the month and some seasonality, it’s either two or three.”
So, it is safe to say that the viral bathroom has not just been effective online, but it has led to real, in-person foot traffic. HOP Shops has become a destination.
“Our inside sales are unbelievable because what I think people do is they come in there, they bring their kid, their TikTok, they bring their phone, their Instagram. They almost feel like because we gave them a free experience, they need to pay,” he remarked. “I’ve had some people say I should have a credit card swiper by the button.”
Bail is against the idea of a credit card swiper next to the button, noting that the spike in inside sales is payment enough for the experience.
The Wedding
Fast forward again to Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day — and HOP Shops employee Tiana Ailstock has the idea of getting married in the disco bathroom.
The company ran with the idea. Bail even mentioned that his wife helped decorate the bathroom for the wedding, using her label printer to add Tiana and her fiancé’s names to disco balls that were hung throughout the venue.
HOP Shops hired an ordained minister to officiate the wedding, who ended the ceremony with the words: “As you place these disco-inspired rings on each other’s fingers, let them be a reminder of the vibrant and dynamic dance you’ve embarked upon — from the disco bathroom to the dance floor of life. May the circles within these rings echo the rhythm of your hearts, intertwined and ever-hopping through the beats of love.”
The couple was able to pick their first dance song and have it play when the button was pressed, starting off their marriage in one of the most unconventional places you could think of.
A video of the wedding can be found here.
What’s Next?
Bail and HOP Shops have big plans for the brand moving forward, including an upcoming apparel line.
“I think we’re probably about a couple months away from launching a much bigger apparel line — different things, hat, shoes, sneakers, socks. There’s a demand for it, so I think we’re probably a couple months away from really getting that off the ground,” noted Bail.
Additionally, Bail and his construction crew have plans to amplify the existing disco bathroom design, featuring two disco balls and the ability to switch the song.
The bathrooms will be implemented into the two new HOP Shops that are in the works now, after the chain recently acquired two new sites from Jumpin’ Jacks Travel Plaza in Lewisport, Ky.
The two sites will be added onto the one that is already planned for 2024, bringing the chain’s store count to 16.