BROOKDALE SODA -- Pride of the Garden State: Brookdale Beverages

Showing posts with label Brookdale Beverages. Show all posts

5/1/15

Ever lock yourself out of your car when picking up Brookdale Soda?

Anthony,

My family and I drank Brookdale soda for years. We lived in Bloomfield and used to drive over to the bottling plant near the Clifton border, grab a wooden case, and fill it up with large bottles. I vividly recall the day I locked the car keys in the trunk by accident when we were getting ready to leave. My father was angry, to say the least. He called my mother, who drove over and opened the trunk with her key. We always had Brookdale soda at family parties. I wish someone would bring that great soda back!

Bob Cianci

6/24/10

Baristanet and Brookale Soda

Although she grew up in Northern Virginia, novelist and Baristanet founder Debra Galant is hearing a lot of good things these days about growing up with Brookdale soda in those days.

Read more.

Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.
Look for the Brookdale Soda group on Facebook.com

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2/16/09

Grace Remembers The Flavorings

Grace reports in:

"...The extracts for that soda, the Black Cherry Pit, the Orange, the Cream and the Root Beer were manufactured by my grandfather, and father, I am the last descendant from that line.

I lived on Lake Street and went to Sacred Heart School.

Whenever I came home from school, the whole house smelled of cherry pit and still when I smell cherry I go back to my childhood.

My favorite candle to burn today is Black Cherry.

Sometimes when I’d come home from school in my little uniform with the knee socks and beanie, my grandfather would ask me to taste (imagine a six year old doing Human Factors) a new flavor he was experimenting with, some I liked others I did not, so your next "new" soda was in the hands (or flavor buds) of a 6 - 10 year old.

We also supplied many of the Italian Ice Stores you probably went to. It was a charmed life, no locked doors, playing in Branch Brook Park until dusk and sitting on the stoop with my friends.

Thanks for remembering...."

7/21/08

Can You Name the Brookdale Soda Flavors?

Two questions:

1 - What's your favorite Brookdale soda flavor?

2 - Without peeking, how many Brookdale soda flavors can you name?

Bonus question - tell us a flavor we missed!

Birch Beer
Black Raspberry
Celery
Cheers
Cherry & Cherry Pit
Club Soda
Coca-Cream
Cola
Cream
Fruit Punch
Ginger Ale
Half And Half
Kola
Lemon
Lemon-Lime
Lime
Orange
Quinine
Root Beer
Tom Collins Mixer
Tonic Water

That's 21 ... of the 32 flavors!

Copyright © 2008 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

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4/16/08

Brookdale Mixers Stash Discovered

What's a Tom Collins, anyway?

Our friend Bob told us about these cases of Brookdale soda bottles he had in his garage. And although he wouldn't part with them, he allowed us to visit with our camera.

Copyright © 2008 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission. Click on photos for close-up view.

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UPDATE: August 2015 ... The owner of this collection passed along the two crates of bottles to Anthony Buccino.

4/4/08

Letters, We Get Letters

Sent: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:36 pm
Subject: Brookdale Beverage

Photo Copyright © 2008 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved

Hi,

I just read your story online about Brookdale Beverage and it brought back some memories for me. I worked behind Mr Peretti's home at Brookdale Beverage for a couple of years during high school ('82-84). It was my first job. I also attended school with his grandchildren (which is how I found out about the job). He was an intelligent, hardworking, firm but fair man. Although I appreciated the gesture, I really hated the lunch sandwiches that he made for us (still not sure what type of lunchmeat it was).

I look back and reflect on how hard the work was! Right about the time that I worked there, in hindsight, they had an opportunity to differentiate themselves by developing healthy drinks (like Snapple did). Unfortunately, Joe grew old and there was no-one there to tweak the business model. I wish I was a few years older at the time and was able to somehow help keep his dream alive.

Respectfully,
Frank

Copyright © 2008 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission. Click on photo for enlarged view.

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3/29/08

Oh, THOSE old bottles?

Should we clean them up and try to take a better photo, or leave them as-is?

We fear if the labels on these old Brookdale soda bottles get wet, they'll fade or disintegrate.

Any suggestions from the peanut gallery?

Copyright © 2008 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

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More On Celery Soda, Really

Letters, we get letters.

Hi Anthony,

I enjoyed reading the articles on Brookdale Soda. I
have collected Celery Soda bottles, advertising, and
ephemera for thirty years and have over three hundred
items in my collection representing over a hundred
companies and thirty-five states plus Canada and Cuba.
I have bottles dating from the 1880s to the 1980s and
every decade in between.

Other New Jersey Celery Sodas included:

Williams Celery Clifton, NJ
Brown's Celery and Phosphate Camden, NY
O-Celery Camden, NJ
Imnken Celery Tonic, Hoboken, NJ
Hoffman Celery Tonic Newark, NJ
Singers Celery Patterson, NJ
Zimmerman's Celery Tonic Patterson, NJ
Celery=Cola Newark, NJ

Would you send me contact information for the Nutley
Museum? I would love to get a picture of a Brookdale
Celery if they have on in that case on display.

Regards,
Dennis Smith

2/14/08

Brookdale Beverages - Light and Clock

WHAT? Milk!

What time is it? It's Brookdale Soda time!

Small pieces of our past are vanishing ... unlike this clock that a fellow in Pennsylvania had and wanted to pass along. So, thanks, now that the package has arrived safely. We'll keep the ice cold for you.

Copyright © 2008 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

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2/6/08

Celery Soda, Part Two

Celery Brookdale Soda

Used by permission of Victoria Chalk

Click on image for easier reading view.

2/5/08

Father's Brookdale Route in Belleville and Newark

Hi,
My father also worked for BROOKDALE BEVERAGE.

I will never forget aunt Marie and uncle Joe and of course Barbara and Joseph.

Most of all i will never forget the wonderful picnics they gave all the employees, i think every year.

My father, Gene Merich, now passed away, had his own soda route which was in newark and belleville. I remember his brookdale truck and the wooden soda cases. I think my favorite flavor was the cream.

I could go on and on, just so many great memories with brookdale soda.

DIANA

2/4/08

Forecast: Refreshment

9/7/07

Sylvan Road Plant

In a message dated 9/7/2007 8:52:54 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
Sksommese writes:

I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN BLFD. I REMEMBER GOING TO BROOKDALE BEVERAGE EVERY SATURDAY WITH MY FATHER TO BRING BACK THE EMPTY CASE AND REFILL IT. 1940'S-1950'S.

I USED TO WATCH THE BOTTLES ON THE CONVEYER BELT GETTING FILLED AND CAPPPED. THE PLANT WAS ON SYLVAN ROAD. NOW THERE ARE HOMES ON THE OLD SITE.

6/30/07

Where WAS the Brookdale Soda Plant?

Hi, Anthony!

It's Barbara - I have written to you before. And I have a question.

Anthony, exactly where was the old Brookdale Soda factory located? I can remember going there a lot of times to pick up soda for parties, etc. - but I'll be darned if I can remember where it was????

Also, what is there now? Just curious.

I revisited your website today after a long time - it is still great and continues to bring back all the GOOD memories, not the BAD ones. LOL Keep up the good work.

Barbara

Anyone out there know the answer to this?

Copyright © 2007 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

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3/25/07

Another View of that Wooden Crate

Copyright © 2007 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.