diff --git a/src/backends/plotly.jl b/src/backends/plotly.jl
index c29e82fe..874c5c72 100644
--- a/src/backends/plotly.jl
+++ b/src/backends/plotly.jl
@@ -47,13 +47,14 @@ is_string_supported(::PlotlyBackend) = true
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+const _plotly_js_path = joinpath(dirname(@__FILE__), "..", "..", "deps", "plotly-latest.min.js")
+
 function _initialize_backend(::PlotlyBackend; kw...)
   @eval begin
     import JSON
     JSON._print(io::IO, state::JSON.State, dt::Union{Date,DateTime}) = print(io, '"', dt, '"')
 
-    _js_path = joinpath(dirname(@__FILE__), "..", "..", "deps", "plotly-latest.min.js")
-    _js_code = open(readstring, _js_path, "r")
+    _js_code = open(readstring, _plotly_js_path, "r")
 
     # borrowed from https://github.com/plotly/plotly.py/blob/2594076e29584ede2d09f2aa40a8a195b3f3fc66/plotly/offline/offline.py#L64-L71 c/o @spencerlyon2
     _js_script = """