I have recently constructed a new blog and am very excited about it. Take a look-
www.JenCastlePhotoBlog.com
If you are a regular reader, please take the time to change all subscriptions and RSS feeds. Thank you.
sincerely,
- Jen Castle Photography
Galco's and the "Freedom of Choice"
Where do I begin . . . well, on Thursday Joe and I were supposed to head down to Catalina Island for the day, which I had decided would be my blog for the week. However, things did not roll out according to plan. Our dog, Hoshi, became sick the night before and we had to take him into emergency care. He's ok now but obviously we had to cancel our plans for that next morning and our family was forced to leave without us. We were a little bummed but decided to make the most of it.
For years now, I have been hearing about Galco's soda pop stop but have never taken the time to check it out for myself, which is silly because it's only fifteen minutes away from our house. Now that our day was wide open, I suggested to Joe that we go, make a blog out of it and see what all the hype was about.
Galco's, I've been told, is the true "King of Pop." One critic described it as "a carbonated rain forest. There are many species of soda, beer, and wine, all living together in a delicately balanced ballet," and upon entering Galco's one immediately notices a quote beaming from above, in bold red letters- "The Freedom of Choice." Boy they aren't kidding! This store has more soda then I have ever seen in my life and not just soda but beer and candy as well. I suddenly felt like Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music," atop of the hills of Switzerland. I felt like a kid again. I was so excited at first, that I forgot to take pictures . . .
and then I remembered . . .
How bout this oldie but goodie? Anyone remember this blast from the past? It's a blast alright, of caffine! What were our parents thinking when they allowed us to drink this stuff. Actually, maybe I'd get more done if I drank it today.
Galco's has every flavor you can think of with a colorful combination of ingredients. Some are chock-full of different dies and artificial flavors, while others are all natural, right down to the sugar cane.
This was one of my favorites. Put Obama's face on a 4 pack of American purity?
Yes we can!
This one is for C.C.
Now toward the end of our shopping adventure, I decided to introduce myself to John, the owner. John showed us around even further and gave us a quick lesson on the store, how he started collecting soda, the history of some of the bottles, and what his favorites store items were. I mean this store is not just a pop stop, it's also a museum and John didn't hesitate for a second in showing us around.
Established in 1857, Galco's was founded on the American dream. It began as a mini mart and today, is known as the largest collection of soda in the Country. John began collecting his sodas when Pepsi-Cola came to him and demanded that he sell their product at a higher rate so that they could then make the percentage that they needed, "why would I sell pepsi for more when my customers can go to the neighboring Ralphs and get it for less," John exclaimed, "and even if I sold it for more I still wouldn't be making enough profit from it." It just wasn't worth it to John but Pepsi knew John would have to concede because the facts are the facts- he was a small mom and pop and needed to have one of the most popular colas present in his shop. Or did he? Long story short, John rebelled and ordered everything but pepsi. To this day, you won't find a single pepsi-cola product in his store and he's made it his goal to help other mom and pops by showcasing their soda within his own mom and pop. I guess that makes Galco's a mom and pop stop as well.
John continued our tour by educating us about the history of bottles. Take these for example-
Did you know that in the late 1800's the U.S. began utilizing a series of bright colbalt blue bottles that also incorporated texture? The bottles contained a series of raised bumps and ridges on the outside of them. The purpose being that should a person mistakenly grab a bottle in the dark, they would know that it was poison, due to the texture on the outside of the of the bottle. This company decided to pay tribute to that bit of history and began designing their soda bottles in the same manner.
Joe and I couldn't get enough. We were throwing one of each into our boxes,
and then we noticed the beer aisle.
So many beers we had never heard of. We didn't know where to begin. So we decided to go for the Costa Rican beer "Imperial," in honor of our upcoming trip.
John also pointed out this colorful number to us, said it was the best Sangria he's ever had.
All in all, we had such a fabulous time picking out beverages and Joe and I are both happy with our final choices. We're still enjoying them. We've had a few people over since we purchased and have found that the sodas and beer make excellent conversation starters. We will definitely return, probably immediately after this stash runs out.
And thank you John for helping to maintain this country's biggest asset- The Freedom of Choice.
For years now, I have been hearing about Galco's soda pop stop but have never taken the time to check it out for myself, which is silly because it's only fifteen minutes away from our house. Now that our day was wide open, I suggested to Joe that we go, make a blog out of it and see what all the hype was about.
Galco's, I've been told, is the true "King of Pop." One critic described it as "a carbonated rain forest. There are many species of soda, beer, and wine, all living together in a delicately balanced ballet," and upon entering Galco's one immediately notices a quote beaming from above, in bold red letters- "The Freedom of Choice." Boy they aren't kidding! This store has more soda then I have ever seen in my life and not just soda but beer and candy as well. I suddenly felt like Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music," atop of the hills of Switzerland. I felt like a kid again. I was so excited at first, that I forgot to take pictures . . .
and then I remembered . . .
How bout this oldie but goodie? Anyone remember this blast from the past? It's a blast alright, of caffine! What were our parents thinking when they allowed us to drink this stuff. Actually, maybe I'd get more done if I drank it today.
Galco's has every flavor you can think of with a colorful combination of ingredients. Some are chock-full of different dies and artificial flavors, while others are all natural, right down to the sugar cane.
This was one of my favorites. Put Obama's face on a 4 pack of American purity?
Yes we can!
This one is for C.C.Now toward the end of our shopping adventure, I decided to introduce myself to John, the owner. John showed us around even further and gave us a quick lesson on the store, how he started collecting soda, the history of some of the bottles, and what his favorites store items were. I mean this store is not just a pop stop, it's also a museum and John didn't hesitate for a second in showing us around.
Established in 1857, Galco's was founded on the American dream. It began as a mini mart and today, is known as the largest collection of soda in the Country. John began collecting his sodas when Pepsi-Cola came to him and demanded that he sell their product at a higher rate so that they could then make the percentage that they needed, "why would I sell pepsi for more when my customers can go to the neighboring Ralphs and get it for less," John exclaimed, "and even if I sold it for more I still wouldn't be making enough profit from it." It just wasn't worth it to John but Pepsi knew John would have to concede because the facts are the facts- he was a small mom and pop and needed to have one of the most popular colas present in his shop. Or did he? Long story short, John rebelled and ordered everything but pepsi. To this day, you won't find a single pepsi-cola product in his store and he's made it his goal to help other mom and pops by showcasing their soda within his own mom and pop. I guess that makes Galco's a mom and pop stop as well.
John continued our tour by educating us about the history of bottles. Take these for example-
Did you know that in the late 1800's the U.S. began utilizing a series of bright colbalt blue bottles that also incorporated texture? The bottles contained a series of raised bumps and ridges on the outside of them. The purpose being that should a person mistakenly grab a bottle in the dark, they would know that it was poison, due to the texture on the outside of the of the bottle. This company decided to pay tribute to that bit of history and began designing their soda bottles in the same manner.
Joe and I couldn't get enough. We were throwing one of each into our boxes,
and then we noticed the beer aisle.
So many beers we had never heard of. We didn't know where to begin. So we decided to go for the Costa Rican beer "Imperial," in honor of our upcoming trip.John also pointed out this colorful number to us, said it was the best Sangria he's ever had.
All in all, we had such a fabulous time picking out beverages and Joe and I are both happy with our final choices. We're still enjoying them. We've had a few people over since we purchased and have found that the sodas and beer make excellent conversation starters. We will definitely return, probably immediately after this stash runs out.And thank you John for helping to maintain this country's biggest asset- The Freedom of Choice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)