Dr Pepper Bottling Co. Then and Now

500 Military Ave

Until recently, I had no idea that Dr Pepper was bottled independently in Dodge City. We have actually had several bottling operations over the years and Dr Pepper opened up on what was then West Chestnut Street around 1930.

Early that year, Nellie Anderson of the B. R. Royse Company hired Parham Construction (of course) to build a brick garage measuring 50 by 75 feet at the corner of Military Avenue and Avenue D.

The Owens General Service Station held their grand opening on April 26, 1930.

This new full-service station was located directly across the street from a smaller Derby filling station. The 1932 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a garage with space for 40 cars and gas tanks out front.

By 1932, the business was owned by Howard Croft and C. L. Hamby, who called it C and H Super Service Station.

Hamby bought out his partner in February of 1933 and the business became known as Hamby’s Service Station.

It changed hands a couple more times in the 1930s before being purchased by N. E. Cooper around 1936. Cooper enlarged the structure and became a Pontiac distributor in January of 1937. Leroy Bretz operated the filling station at the south end.

Things were a bit quiet from 1939 until Barton Electric Co. moved to the building in 1945.

Barton moved again to a spot on Chestnut less than a year later. The location became occupied by Danford Bus Line by March of 1946 followed by Kansas Motor Coaches, which was operated by Ted Chester.

Dr. Pepper Bottling Company moved to 500 Military in April of 1950. An addition was constructed at the north end of the building around that time.

Fun fact: The period after Dr was removed in the 1950s but this 1962 photo shows the exterior branding hadn’t been updated. Sun-drop Cola and “Mr.” Cola were also bottled at this location.

Nold, Inc. was the Pepsi Cola bottler in those days. The Nold plant in Garden City bottled Dr Pepper and they assumed Dr Pepper operations in Dodge around 1965. A real estate ad listed the building as vacant in April of that year but it was used as a warehouse by Nold until Cox Produce Company moved in around 1967.

Cox Produce became Cox Food Service, Inc. in the 1980s and they occupied the building until around 1984. Multiple trucking companies used the facility from then until around 2005, some of which were operated by Robert VenJohn.

The building has been home to Asian Lucky Market since about 2006. The north addition has been used as a liquor store since that time and is currently Twisted Liquor.

This is how the former Dr Pepper Bottling Co. looks today:

I feel like the understated architecture from the 1920s and ’30s is underappreciated. In its natural state, this building was aesthetically pleasing. I’m happy it still exists and is being used.

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