Buffalo Loves Johnnie Ryan
If you've been hanging around any of the Buffalo cafés in recent months, you may have noticed that there is a new soda pop on the scene. Actually, Johnnie Ryan's is not new to the region... the company began as the Keystone Water Company and was founded way back in 1935! And guess where it's located? Right in Niagara Falls, New York. I was stoked to see that that the Village Beer Merchant picked up the regional brand (photo), and for the first time (over the weekend) I stopped in to stock up on a few different varieties. I must say that the cherry flavored soda was my favorite, which is surprising because that was the one I thought about leaving on the shelf. The classic glass bottles used to distribute the product speak wonders regarding the amount of pride generated by the family-owned business.
I learned a couple of interesting facts about the Johnnie Ryan product as I scanned the company's website this weekend. Tattoo artist Frank Rotella created the vintage branding and the marketing effort behind the product. In 1935 Coke dropped its flavored soda lines (to concentrate on cola) and left the market open for smaller companies to enter the market with non-cola sodas. At the same time, a decision was made to increase the size of the bottle (and contents) in order to compete with Coke's 6 1/2" bottle. Thus, the Keystone Water Company became the Extra Bottling Company. It wasn't until 1942 that the Extra Bottling Company opted to make a final name change to Johnnie Ryan in order to appeal to a growing Irish population.
Even though Johnnie Ryan is a regional company, there are hopes of breaking into the national market. In the meantime, I'm happy to see more and more local eateries, cafés and markets picking up the product. If you shop at Wegmans, Tops Markets and/or Dash's Markets, why not try your favorite flavor? Made with 100% cane sugar and available in the following flavors: Cherry, Cola, Cream Soda, Ginger Ale, Orange, Root Beer. If you're a local coffee shop and want to get in touch with a regional soda option, you can learn more about the products by clicking here. Support local... support regional... it's more important now than ever.
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sbrof
Jonny Ryan's is good stuff. It is just about as Buffalo local as you can get when searching for multiple pop flavors. Their ginger ale is my favorite. Plus you don't get that gross taste of acidic slowly degrading a plastic like what happens with most drinks. I basically gave up on plastic bottles under the 2 liter size because of flavor and health concerns.
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jeffd
If Johnnie Ryan really wanted a local feel to their product they wouldn't call it Johnnie Ryan Soda, they'd call it Johnnie Ryan Pop. That's what all my friends and family have always called it, and we're from Niagara Falls. Most people in western New York (and most of the rest of the Great Lakes region) don't call carbonated soft drinks sodas. I wish the writers of Buffalo Rising would acknowledge this fact as well.
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dpbflo
Johnnie Ryan is great stuff!
Jeff- Buffalo Rising is bringing attention to a good local product making a comeback in our area. Why waste the time on something we already know (most people in this area referring to carbonated soft drinks as pop). They can call it whatever they would like. Its a great product. Not to mention do you know for a fact that people back in 1935 referred to carbonated beverages as pop?
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meanoldman
i see delicious RYAN beverage on the label. go for it guys. any local product can only be good for the area. webbers mustard, sahlens dogs,crystal beach loganberry or BUFFALO wings,(chicken wings to us locals). call it what you will,we should all be proud it started in our back yard!! I cant wait to get a genuine glass bottle of RYANS soda, oh crap, i mean bottle of POP!!! good luck ....
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NorPark
I reprogrammed myself to say 'soda' instead of 'pop' about 10 years ago, i felt referring to this type of beverage as 'pop' just sounded plain old stupid, regardless if thats what people around the area call it.
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ryanelguiri
http://popvssoda.com:2998/
Here you can see the linguistic divide between the two. Also adds in the over-reaching 'coke' for all things carbonated.
These debates can go on forever, such as putting 'the' infront of interstate names 'the 290' and also 'driving truck' instead of 'driving a truck' etc etc.
Oh the joys of being a linguist.
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meanoldman
"POP" is the noise a bottle makes when you "POP" the top hence the name, bottle of "POP". Flavored soda's are created at a soda shop, by a soda jerk, trained in the art flavoring soda water. to bad there aren't many soda shops left. what the hell, give me a bottle of "POP" !!!
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r129
If you're cheap (like me) you can find 2-liters of Ryan POP for 89 cents at Budwey's or The Market on Tonawanda Street. Sure, it's not the "premium" variety, but they have birch beer! You just can't go wrong with birch beer for 89 cents as far as I'm concerned.
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rydog71
I remember drinking Johnnie Ryan as a kid at family picnics. It was the pop (soda) of choice for our family and we use to head to the Falls and pick up several cases because it was good and cheap. I loved the cream soda but I have to say I recently dropped $6 on a 4 pack and found it to be too sweet for my taste but I do like the fact its not full of all the junk the major brands are made of. I'll try the orange next time I want to relive the less stressful days of my youth.
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onestarmartin
POP, BIG HUGE AND WARSH all Buffalo terms, right up there with a Friday night fish fry...
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PaulBuffalo
Why do Buffalonians think that the 'fish fry' is exclusive to Buffalo? I've found the term and meal in various parts of the country.
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sbrof
I don't care what the bottle says, it is and will stay pop in my book. Soda is just an ingredient in pop like seltzer water or carbonated things. Call me crazy but I like the term.
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hilaritee
PaulBuffalo: Buffalonians think friday fish fry is a local original because in most other places you find fish and chips which is not the same as a fish fry, no rye bread and no macaroni salad. you have to be from a town that was once or still is predominantly a Catholic town to find a buffalo style fish fry.
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buffalobooster
Does anyone remember the Visniak Bottling Company? They were located on Fillmore Ave. The had the best local pop, evena small 7 oz. bottle that sold for 5 cents.
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crisa
buffalobooster: I remember Visniak, Hammer's and Queeno but not Ryan! I wonder if their orange pop is as good as orange pop ued to be?
Do you remember the potato chip factory that was somewhere in that Fillmore Avenue area? My parents only allowed such food when one of us kids was having a birthday party. (I don't remember chips in the house at any other time, not even Christmas! Moms don't appear to try to stop the junk now.)
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joey
Wasnt there a bottling co. on Norris st. ..off Hertel , near Elmwood, called Black Rock Bottling and they sold Black Rock Soda.....I remember..in the early 60's?/
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crisa
Oops. My reference to a potato chip factory on Fillmore Ave. was a part of an east of Fillmore-west of Union conversation...
Staying off topic: ALL sodapops:: We love birch beer--which slowly but surely is coming back! Ginger ale is actually good for the digestive track. Root beer floats!!!
As far as colas thought; BAD for human pipes 'cause it takes rust off of metal pipes!!!
Go to such places as a "movie" theater or anywhere paper cups AND false impressions are used-- customers can see paper cups advertising colas, but, who among the public actually know what brand of sodapop is actually in those cups--such info remains known ONLY to managements, not the buying public? Such "Pushy" advertising is not only deceptive it also creates a false marketing representation.
Is it a fact that cola sales are not "up there" in profit margins nowadays? Could it be that the young are finally listening to their elders--elders, that is, whose pipes have not corroded?
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ChristaSeychew
The Johnnie Ryan product currently sold in glass bottles is a great alternative to other sodas because of its use of pure cane syrup--a real benefit to those wishing to avoid high fructose corn syrup. This is a great product line, and although many associate the Ryan brand with "cheap pop", this newer line is in the same ball park with the many gourmet or high-end sodas on the market (think Boylan).
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OctoberAngel55
There was in fact a Blackrock Bottling Co. off Hertel. I use to live on St. Floria, right behind the Catholic church, up until I was 8 years oldl . My dad use to bring home pop from Blackrock Bottling. You were able to get different flavors in real glass bottles in wooden bottle crates. My favorite flavor was the clear cream soda. Yum.
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