Ritz Beverage Co. / St. Louis, Mo

Welcome to our Antique Bottle community

Be a part of something great, join today!

bottle-bud

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Messages
532
Reaction score
625
Points
93
Location
St. Louis, Missouri
Ritz Beverage Company
1822 – 1826 South 12[SUP]th[/SUP] Street
Saint Louis, Missouri

1936 is the first year that I find Ritz Beverage Company in a city directory. 1936 also lists Nehi Bottling Co at the same address as Ritz. I am guessing Nehi was bottling the Ritz Products at the time, but this would not last as The Royal Crown Cola Bottling Co would open there own bottling operation in 1939.
Located at 4022 W. Pine, RC Cola Bottling Co of St. Louis would bottle Royal Crown Cola, Nehi, Par-T-Pak, Upper 10 and Diet Rite for many years to come.

I found an ad from 1937 for Ritz sodas. Looks like they bottled Double Cola and Morland Club also.
I do have a pair of Double Cola’s in my collection but have yet to find a bottle or anything related to the Morland Club.

Ritz new year.jpg


Below are two bottles in my collection from Ritz, a late 1930 to early 1940’s 12-ounce that would have had a paper label and 1936 art deco version. Also shown is a 1930’s Nehi. This is the only St. Louis marked Nehi that I have in my collection. Nehi was franchised from The Nehi Corp. of Columbus, Ga.

P1020566.jpg P1020565.jpg P1010650.jpg


Next, I find an ad from 1939 for Double-Cola showing the same bottle I have in my collection. Actually, I have two bottles, one dating 1939 and the other 1940. Double Cola was franchised from the Seminole Flavor Co. of Chattanooga, Tennessee
365414-011119.jpgP1020576.jpg


1941 comes around and Dad’s Root Beer Bottling Company now shares the same address as Ritz Beverage Co. Dad’s and Ritz will share this address into the early 1960’s.
Here are some of the earlier Ritz bottles in my collection. A 6-ounce bottle dated 1946, two 10-ounce versions dating 1943 and 1944, and a 1952 version showing a young man in tails with a top hat and cane.
P1020567.jpg P1020568.jpg P1020569.jpg P1020570.jpg

Later versions include a 12-ounce, 1955 lemon lime, a 12-ounce 1956, and a 16-ounce bottle dated 1963. Looks like the Ritz kid has matured from a baby in 1939, to a stylish young man in 1952 and rapidly aged to an older gentleman now sporting a mustache and a monocle in the late 1950’s
P1020572.jpg P1020574.jpg P1020575.jpg


Ritz Beverage Company had many different flavors. Labels are easily found on E-bay. Here are the ones I have in my collection.
DocFile (1).jpg DocFile (2).jpg DocFile (3).jpg DocFile (4).jpg



In November of 1941 and I find an ad welcoming Dad’s RootBeer to St. Louis. The ad and the paper label soda bottle show the same address as Ritz Beverage Co. Dad’s was franchised by Dad’s Root Beer Co. out of Chicago,Illinois.
330915-011119.jpg P1020578.jpg






 

bottle-bud

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Messages
532
Reaction score
625
Points
93
Location
St. Louis, Missouri
Ritz and Clicquot Club

Looks like Ritz Beverage Co. also purchased a franchise for bottling Clicquot Club. The letterhead shows the same address of 1826 South 12[SUP]th [/SUP]Street in St. Louis. I am unsure of the date of this letterhead but it probably is in the 1950’s. Also pictured are three paper labels and a 7-ounce acl bottle that dates to the mid 1960’s. Clicquot Club was franchised by Clicquot Club Co.of Millis, Ma.

Letterhead.jpg paper labels.jpg P1020039.jpg
 

iggyworf

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2013
Messages
2,040
Reaction score
304
Points
83
Location
S.E. Michigan
Great write up and great clean bottles! That's cool how they started out with a baby and aged him as the soda went thru the years.
 

Members online

Latest threads

Forum statistics

Threads
83,173
Messages
742,673
Members
24,170
Latest member
beth 264
Top