The History of Barq's® Root Beer

Barq's History

1871

Edward Charles Edmond Barq Sr. 

Inventor of Barq's Root Beer is born to french parents in New Orleans.

1898

Mr. Barq moves to the beach resort town of Biloxi, Mississippi.

He bottles and sells his first Barq's. It's unusual, sharp taste
draws a unique following. The rest, as they say, is history.

1920-1924

Prohibition begins, prompting the sale of root beer to shoot through the roof.

Edward Barq is heard to exclaim, "Hot diggity dog!" Flagpole sitting becomes a major fad.True to their off-beat and out-of-the-box sensibilities, the Barq's executive team considers throwing out chairs in favor of flagpole sitting at all board meetings.

1970-1979

The company moves back to the
hometown of Edward C Barq - New Orleans.

The disco craze begins and the world is suddenly populated with disco balls. All that dancing created a bit of a health craze, and soon Sugar-Free Barq's Root Beer was launched. It was an instant success, because of course, It's Good.

1981-1986

Barq's refranchising increased it's
distribution network up to 47 markets.

About 10 million people were able to kick back with a cold, refreshing Barq's Root Beer on hot southern nights. 

1993-1994

The One with Bite.

Barq's territory stretches coast to coast, supplying 440 markets and millions of people with "The One With Bite." Consumers get stuck on temporary tattoos as "Barqtoos Il" shows muscle in the summer promo return. Band-aids not included.

 

1995

The Coca-Cola Company completes
its purchase of Barq's Inc. 

The headquarters is moved to Atlanta, but the unmistakable Barq's bite continues. Barq's takes a bigger piece out of the root beer market by introducing Barqy the dog - "Barq's has bite!" Band-aids not included.

2017

And here we are.

Our hometown may have changed over the years, but the icy bite of Barq's is here to stay! Oh, and BTW..DRINK BARQ'S. IT'S GOOD™. It's really, really good.