Frequently Asked Questions
What is the history of the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company?
Dr Pepper was created in Waco, Texas in 1885 by Charles Alderton. He worked at the Old Corner Drug Store owned by Wade Morrison. Morrison actually named the drink after the father of a young lady he loved in his home state of Virginia. He did not win favor with the father, but the name took hold.
For several years, Dr Pepper was sold only as a fountain drink, but when businessman Sam Houston Prim tasted the new drink, he decided it had a promising future as a bottled drink. He established the first Dr Pepper bottling plant in Dublin, Texas in 1891.
Although the tiny Dublin franchise is one of Dr Pepper’s smallest (just a 44-mile radius around Dublin), it is consistently ranked near the top in per capita sales. Its phenomenal success can be attributed to the fact that it has retained the original pure cane sugar recipe while other bottlers switched to the less expensive corn sweeteners.
The Dublin Dr Pepper plant has never been sold. Mr. Prim, the founder, left it to his only child, Grace Prim Lyon, who had no children. Mrs. Lyon died on the morning of the plant’s 100th birthday celebration, willing it to her longtime manager, Bill Kloster. Bill passed away in 1999 and today his son, Billy Edward Kloster, and his two grandsons, Jeff and Mark, own the plant. Mark currently serves as the active partner of the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company.
What makes Dublin Dr Pepper so different?
Dublin Dr Pepper is still made using the original sweetener, pure cane sugar. In the 1970s the price of sugar rose and soft drink companies started panicking because it was getting too expensive to produce their drinks using sugar. Virtually everyone switched to high fructose corn syrup because it was much less expensive.
The decision was made at that time to keep using the pure cane sugar, regardless of the extra expense. The Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company is the only Dr Pepper bottler that has always used pure cane sugar to sweeten the drink.
Why isn’t Dublin Dr Pepper available everywhere?
The formula for Dr Pepper was created in Waco in 1885 but the first franchise agreement was not issued until 1925. Franchise agreements defined the terms under which individual bottlers could produce Dr Pepper and limited the territory where it could be sold by that bottler. Sam Houston Prim was the first person to bottle Dr Pepper, and for this reason he was given first choice on a franchise area. He chose a modest 44-mile radius. His daughter, plant heir Grace Prim Lyon, remarked many years later that he could have taken the entire state or even the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but he apparently was satisfied with the informal arrangement he had had for more than three decades. On the back of his franchise agreement, he drew a small map with Dublin at the center. He penciled in Tolar to the northeast, Desdemona and Carbon to the west, Comanche to the south, Lamkin and Fairy to the east and Iredell to the north, officially claiming the same area he had considered his territory since he began bottling in 1891.
The legal agreement required the franchise grantee (Dublin Bottling Works) to, among other things, guarantee the quality of Dr Pepper to be pure and wholesome. It also gave the company the authority to purchase crowns and Dr Pepper syrup, while prohibiting it from producing “an imitation” Dr Pepper.
The wholesale distribution of Dr Pepper is limited to the bottler’s franchise area, which means that a bottler is not allowed (except under special circumstances) to market product in a territory that is held by another franchised Dr Pepper bottler.
Dublin Dr Pepper Museum and Waco Dr Pepper Museum. What is the difference?
The Dublin Dr Pepper Museum focuses on its own unique history. Most of the huge collection of memorabilia in the Dublin Museum was collected by Bill Kloster who loved and collected all things Dr Pepper. Our collection contains many rare pieces and is one of the largest in the world. A tour of the plant not only takes you through our working antique operating bottling line, but also through the museum, which was the original offices of the plant. The tour ends in Old Doc’s Soda Shop, where you can step up to our soda fountain and enjoy a Frosty Dr Pepper or purchase some of our great Dr Pepper memorabilia. Dublin Dr Pepper is a privately owned company and still a working company.
The Waco Museum tells about the creation of Dr Pepper at the Old Corner Drug Store and about the growth of the soft drink industry. It also teaches you about the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company which was once located in the museum.
What does 10-2-4 mean?
Those well-known Dr Pepper numbers of 10, 2 and 4 weren’t selected at random. They represent the times of day when the human body needs a little “pick-me-up” to avoid an energy slump.
It was in the 1920s that Dr. Walter Eddy at Columbia University studied the body’s metabolism. He discovered that a natural drop in energy occurs about 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. But he also discovered that if the people in his research study had something to eat or drink at 10, 2 and 4, the energy slump could be avoided.
After Dr. Eddy’s research findings were released, Dr Pepper challenged its advertising agency to come up with a theme which would suggest that Dr Pepper should be that 10, 2 and 4 drink which would keep the energy level up. The result was one of the most enduring of Dr Pepper’s advertising themes: Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2 and 4.
Today, just those numbers 10-2-4 suggest it’s time for a Dr Pepper!
I want to visit the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company. What else is there to do in Dublin?
The Dublin Historical Museum at 116 W. Blackjack is a step-back in time – an inviting look at how Dublin used to be: how we lived, how we learned, how we made our living, how we worshipped. You don’t have to be a Dubliner to be totally absorbed by the artifacts and memorabilia in this outstanding museum. Open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except major holidays). (254) 445-4550.
Right next door to the Dublin Historical Museum is the Dublin Rodeo Heritage Museum which celebrates Dublin’s colorful rodeo history. The rodeo of the 40s and 50s was a joint project of Everett Colborn and cowboy singing star Gene Autrey. The museum pays tribute to the many area cowboys and cowgirls who played a role in the rodeo legend, in Dublin and at Madison Square Garden, the next stop after the performers and stock was taken by railcar to New York. (254) 445-0200.
Hoka Hey Fine Arts Foundry and Gallery is world renowned for its bronze sculptures. You’ll recognize such well-known works of art as the huge sculpture of John Wayne, which stands at John Wayne Airport in California or the Pearl of the Concho which is the focal piece of the Concho River project in downtown San Angelo. Call (254) 445-2017.
Many of the people who drop by the Dr Pepper plant are in town to do genealogical research at the Dublin Public Library, located just across the street from the Rodeo Museum at 206 W. Blackjack. (254) 445-4141.
Just opposite the library is Wright Historical Park which features a century-old grist mill currently under renovation and other structures of early Erath County.
Dublin also has several antique shops and gift stores as well as a beautiful Corner Lot Park, where you can see Pretty Peggy Pepper swinging.
Dublin Chamber of Commerce: (254) 445-3422
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