TORRINGTON – AJ’s Soda Shop, set to open this month, is the brainchild of two friends with one mission – create a space where residents and visitors can treat themselves to specialty refreshments, ice cream and baked goods.

Amy Johansson, who hails from Idaho, and Jaclyn Miller, originally from Utah, both moved to the area for their husbands’ jobs in recent years and quickly became close friends.
“I’ve been here two-and-a-half years,” Johansson said. “I just felt like this town was starving for something. Jaclyn moved here a year-and-a-half ago and had the same idea – it all came about during a routine trip to Walmart.”
On that fateful day, the women stopped at a fast food restaurant for refreshments.
“I told Jaclyn I thought this area needed a soda shop, and she said, ‘Me too,’”
Johansson said.