I went to the Cheez-it Stop in Joshua Tree. Here's what I saw at the pop-up attraction
On an otherwise quiet Monday morning on Highway 62 in Joshua Tree, the “Cheez-it Stop” bustled with Cheez-it enthusiasts who milled about the pop-up spectacle that took over The Station, a 1949 Richfield service station-turned-local gift shop known for its huge statue, Big Josh, who of course was emblazoned with Cheez-it paraphernalia.
Even the cacti were adorned with decorative Cheez-its.
Evan Browsowsky, a Wonder Valley resident, heard about the real-life Cheez-it mirage from Joshua Tree’s local FM radio station KCDZ, 107.7. Browsowsky held a red and orange Cheez-it tote that had just been filled with mini bags of Cheez-its shot out from a pump.
“My big thing is, I wonder what the check is (on this event),” Browsowsky said. He joked: “Does this mean we’re going to get the M&M store in the winter?”
Owners Glen Steigelman and Steve Halterman, who’ve owned The Station for 12 years both expressed a sense of childlike joy and delight as they milled about the morning crowd of 40-plus people.
Steigelman and Halterman packed up their whole store, usually a gift shop purveying local goods.
“We took everything out. It took like three days. It’s all in a U-Haul outside our house,” Halterman said. “They were looking for an old gas station in a desert town. What they didn’t anticipate is that we had Big Josh. Big Josh is everything."
Big Josh is a 25-foot “Muffler Man” statue created in the 1950s and used as a form of advertising along with other Muffler Men peppered along gas stations across America.
They traced Big John’s trajectory back to a date farm near the Salton Sea.
“He was down in Mecca since 1965,” Halterman explained, then went to a gas station and eventually, at the Yucca Valley swap meet. “He just showed up on a trailer. It was a major meant-to-be and a save of a desert icon.”
According to Halterman, most locals have been surprisingly supportive of the temporary corporate cheese cracker takeover.
“Everybody’s been really supportive. We’ve only had one hater we’ve seen online. The people who want it greatly outweigh the people who don’t. It’s only a week. It’ll be The Station next week.”
Courtney Bentley, senior brand manager for Kellogg's Cheez-it, explained that the event was inspired by the cracker’s new tagline: Want it, need it, Cheez-it.
“We took inspiration from our adventure-seeking, road-trip loving fans with that retro nostalgia of road trip attractions.”
Plus, it’s Instagramable. (Just check out @Cheez-it.)
Tom Swagerty of Huntington Beach, who also owns a property locally, said he was pleased the corporates chose the Joshua Tree location instead, say, somewhere in Hollywood.
“They’ve picked a place that could use the people coming in – they didn’t go to Hollywood or SeaWorld. It’s a nice gesture.”
Swagerty said people were trying to get in before the official opening.
“They had three guys patrolling (The Station),” Swagerty said.
He was interested in potentially buying a Cheez-it bandana or mug. “The prices are pretty good.”
The Cheez-It Stop is free and open to the public through June 11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The pop-up is located inside The Station, at 61-943 Twentynine Palms Highway in Joshua Tree. Parking is behind the shop and there are restrooms.
This isn't the first corporate brand popup in the area. In 2019, Taco Bell took over the V Hotel in Palm Springs with its popup, "The Bell Hotel." In 2022, a private home in Palm Springs became the "HI-CHEW Fantasy House" pop-up in the Warm Sands neighborhood.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Joshua Tree Cheez-it Stop pop-up: What you need to know
