Pop Tate (Rivervale)

This article is about Pop Tate, who resides in Rivervale. You may be looking for his Riverdale counterpart, Pop Tate.

“	You... can't sell the diner, Tabitha. [...] It's so much more than that, honey. Over the years, it's become a refuge for the lost and persecuted. That's why the devil wants it. Pops is the soul of Rivervale, which he wants to destroy, and that's why you cannot let him have it.	”
	— Pop to Tabitha^[src]

Pop Tate is the owner of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe and Tabitha's grandfather who sold his soul to The Devil, in exchange for his father's soul.

Throughout Rivervale[]

Season 6[]

Archie's sacrifice[]

Pop is at the town hall meeting when Archie gives an update on the town's reforestation plan and how he plans to distribute maple saplings to be planted in each family's yard due to Cheryl and Thornhill being a sovereign state.

Following the Maple Harvest Festival, Pop returns to Thornhill along with the rest of the townspeople to bear witness as Cheryl sacrifices Archie to the Maple Maiden for the greater good of Rivervale and cuts out his heart.^[1]

The ghost of Pop's diner[]

RD-Caps-6x02-Ghost-Stories-61-Pop-Tabitha — Pop tells Tabitha about a ghost that haunted the diner

Pop Tate checks in on Tabitha, who has dropped three plates since her shift started. Tabitha admits that she hasn't been sleeping well and asks her grandfather if he believes in ghosts, which he does, telling Tabitha that for a while, the diner was haunted by the ghost of a waitress who died in an accident with the deep fryer. When they opened back up a couple days later, strange things began to happen: the jukebox would start playing on its own and pots and pans would fall off hooks. Tabitha asks how he got it to stop. Pop recalls the riots in the 1980s, when every window was broken. After that night, they didn't have another incident, as if the racket scared the ghost off.^[2]

Sold his soul to the Devil[]

RD-Caps-6x03-Mr-Cypher-07-Pop — Pop collapses

Pop tells Jim, a regular at the diner, to keep what little money he has and pay him next time, as Jim is struggling just to get by. Tabitha takes notice and remarks that Pop has the biggest heart she knows. Just then, Pop Tate glances outside the window of the diner, where he sees the Devil glaring back at him. His true form manifests, and Pop Tate collapses to the floor from a heart attack.

Pop awakens in the hospital and asks if Tabitha saw the Devil, which she did. She then reveals to Pop Tate that she intends to make a new deal: his soul in exchange for the diner, but Pop refuses to allow Tabitha to sell the diner. Over the years, it's become a refuge for the lost and persecuted, which is why the Devil wants it. Pop's is the soul of Rivervale, which is why he refuses to give it up.

RD-Caps-6x03-Mr-Cypher-110-Pop-Tabitha — Pop Tate and Tabitha poison the Devil

Pop Tate and Tabitha arrange to meet with the Devil at the diner. He is under the impression that they have accepted his offer to give him the diner in return for Pop keeping his soul. When they both sign on the dotted line, Mr. Cypher reveals his plans to tear it down. With this being Pop's final night, Tabitha proposes they drink one final milkshake. However, the Devil's milkshake has been poisoned with the tears that the Virgin Mary shed at the Crucifixion. Mr. Cypher begins to spew blood, questioning where Tabitha got the tears. She reveals that she got it from her guardian angel, and since she and Pop have also consumed the tears, they're protected from his demonic properties and proceed to throw the Devil out of the diner before consecrating the shoppe and protecting it from all evil with the tears of Mary.^[3]

The Sweet Hereafter[]

When Jughead is killed and arrives at the Sweet Hereafter, he notices that it greatly resembles Pop's diner and an old-fashioned soda shop. It appears almost identical, expect it also sells comics. There, Jughead is welcomed by Pop Tate, who tells him to grab a comic to read and have a seat.^[4]

Physical Appearance[]

Pop Tate resembles his Riverdale counterpart in every way. He is an older man, who's on the heavier side, with dark skin, dark brown eyes and grey hair.