Barq's Brothers Bottling Company

Edward Charles Edmond Barq was born in New Orleans in 1871. When he was only two years old, his father, who was French, died. After his father's death, Edward's mother returned to France, where Edward  learned the art of flavour chemistry.

The Barq's Brothers Bottling Company was founded in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1890, by Edward and his older brother, Gaston. The Barq Brothers bottled carbonated water and various flavours. The most popular initially was their orange flavoured called “Orangine,” which won a gold medal at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.

Edward and Gaston bottled soft drinks in New Orleans until Gaston’s death about 1892. Barq Sr. moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1897. The following year he opened the Biloxi Artesian Bottling Works. 1898 is often given as the debut year for what was later to be known as “Barq’s root beer.”

The first franchise came in 1934 in Mobile, Alabama. Three years later sixty-two bottling plants churned out Barq’s in twenty-two states. Barq’s was acquired by a larger company, Coca-Cola in 1995 for $91 million.
Barq's Brothers Bottling Company