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I started my relationship with soft drinks at a pharmacy, much like North Carolina did in New Bern more than a century ago. Boone Drug on King Street was only a short walk from my first elementary school. I’d fish a quarter and a penny out of my plastic coin purse to pay for a fountain drink as an after-school treat. The women who ran the lunch counter would doctor up my drink with cherry syrup, if I asked politely. Unlike the original Tar Heel soda, there was no medicine in those drinks, but that doesn’t mean they did me no good. To this day, I seek a crispy fountain drink with “the good ice” — those nubby pellets just right for chewing — to pull me back from the brink on wearisome days.
I also remember going to the original Appalachian movie theater on King Street and getting refreshments in the hushed, dim lobby. Egged on by one another, my friends and I would muster up the courage to ask for a mixture of all the flavors available. We had silly nicknames for this daring concoction, such as a “suicide,” “graveyard,” “drink bomb,” or “swamp water.” Those drinks entertained us as much as the kids’ movies and cartoons we’d come to watch.
• • •
Around here, asking someone if they want a drink isn’t the same as offering them a beverage. “Drink” implies a soft drink, which might also be called soda, pop, or coke, whether it’s cola or another flavor. Some folks from my grandparents’ generation called it “sody dope,” a term born from the era when rolling snack carts known as dope wagons were wheeled through North Carolina textile mills, the vending machines of their day. The term “dope” is a potent reminder that many of the earliest soft drinks packed a punch, not from alcohol but from caffeine, cocaine, and other stimulants.
Tried and new: Our legacy libations speak to a long-standing history of innovation, while modern creations celebrate North Carolina agriculture. All salute a state with good taste. photograph by Tim Robison
The classic drinks born here in The Old North State were touted as tonics and treats. Pepsi hails from New Bern, where, in 1893, Caleb Bradham created a soft drink dubbed “Brad’s Drink.” It was an overnight sensation. By 1898, Bradham had opened a pharmacy and aimed to serve his soda as a refreshing, healthy cola to treat dyspepsia. He renamed his product Pepsi-Cola with the slogan, “Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion.” His second tagline came in 1906, when he changed it to “The Original Pure Food Drink” to distinguish his product from others ordered by the government to remove banned substances such as arsenic from their recipes.
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My North Carolina soda repertoire grew to include Cheerwine from Salisbury, said to be the oldest continuously operated family-owned soft drink company in the country. I think my first Cheerwine came from The Thrift, a mom-and-pop grocery near my parent’s house. I’d slide open the heavy lid of the drink cooler, lean way over to fish out a bottle from the icy depths, and pry off the cap that landed with a metallic clink in the tin can mounted under the bottle opener. Cheerwine’s original label proclaimed, “It’s full of good cheer.” It certainly was. Somehow, while hanging onto the slippery bottle while riding my bike, I would giggle, sing, and swig all the way home.
The thrill of the chase has always been integral to my enjoyment of sodas. These days I’m on the hunt for our state’s newest generation of soft drinks, known as craft sodas. Recent finds include Devil’s Foot from Asheville, Wehrloom Honey & Meadery based in Robbinsville, Waynesville Soda Jerks, and Bingo-Bango out of Winston-Salem. The charming names and colorful graphics on some of their cans proclaim ingredients sourced from regional farms and fields. Caleb Bradham would have approved of them being exhilarating, invigorating, and pure. I’m drinking it in.
photograph by Tim Robison
This dish is popular party fare. All you need to do to set the table is put out toothpicks and napkins. This recipe also makes a nice dinner when served with something to sop up the tangy sauce.
Be creative with your soda choice. My go-to combo is equal parts cola, ginger beer, and something fruity. Using a mixture of sodas is more fun and tasty than any single flavor, although I usually include at least some cola because it helps tenderize the meatballs. It might seem odd to include apple pie spice here, but many of those spices are also in craft colas and ginger beer, so this is a way to layer flavors.
Yield: About 3 dozen meatballs in about 2½ cups sauce.
For the Sauce:
1½ cups soda, one or more flavors (not diet)
1 cup ketchup
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
For the Meatballs:
2½ ounces crustless soft white bread, torn into small pieces (2 unpacked cups)
½ cup whole milk or buttermilk
½ cup finely grated onion
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
¾ cup (1½ ounces) finely grated Parmesan
⅓ cup minced fresh parsley
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon apple pie spice
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground chuck
½ pound ground pork
For the sauce: In a small saucepan, stir together all the ingredients. Bring to a low boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer gently while preparing meatballs, or for at least 30 minutes, to reduce slightly and combine flavors.
For the meatballs: In a large bowl, stir together bread and milk. Let stand until bread is saturated, about 10 minutes. Use fingertips or fork to stir into a thick mash with no dry spots.
Add onion, egg, yolk, Parmesan, parsley, zest, salt, thyme, garlic powder, mustard powder, apple pie spice, and pepper. Stir well, let stand 5 minutes.
Crumble meat into bread mixture. Using clean hands, mix vigorously and thoroughly without compacting the meat. The mixture should be well combined and slightly sticky.
Preheat oven to 400°. Use convection, if you have it.
Note: The way to check the seasoning of the meatballs before cooking them all is to fry a small spoonful of the meatloaf mixture in a skillet until it’s cooked through.
Use a 1-ounce spring-release scoop or fingertips to portion and form meatballs. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet, spacing evenly. Each one should be about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and the size of a ping-pong ball.
Bake meatballs for 10 minutes or until they lose their raw color and begin to firm. Use a metal spatula to transfer them to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or other shallow baking dish, arranging them in a single layer. Leave any liquid and residue on the baking sheet.
Pour enough warm sauce into the dish to come about two-thirds of the way up the side of the meatballs. Return to oven and bake until meatballs are cooked through and browned on top, 10 to 15 minutes more. When done, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should register 160°.
Serve warm with any remaining sauce on the side.
For a nostalgic meal, post up at the counter at Rocky’s Grill and Soda Shop in Brevard. photograph by Tim Robison
In 2024, a mountain community was saved from heartbreak when a local family stepped up to reopen the soda shop that had served downtown Brevard since 1941. Surrounded by vintage soda signs and red-and-white booths, patrons can enjoy The Elvis, a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, with an egg cream.
50 South Broad Street
(828) 877-5375
rockysbrevard.com
The mahogany furniture and restored woodwork in this shop come from original North Carolina drugstores, including the one that served treats here from 1916 to 1962. Opened in 1997, S&T’s is an homage to the region’s past, from its dishes, like Steve’s Gambler — a skirt steak inspired by The Rathskeller in Chapel Hill — to their collection of “Dr. Pilk’s Phizzies,” named for the pharmacist who opened Pittsboro’s first drugstore.
85 Hillsboro Street
(919) 545-0007
sandtsodashoppe.com
While you admire old college photos and newspaper clippings decorating The Soda Shop’s walls, take part in another piece of Davidson’s history and order a phosphate, a soda made the same way since their opening in 1952: hand-poured by a soda fountain operator known as a “soda jerk.” Squeeze into one of the original wooden booths or take your refreshment to go and sip and stroll through this historic college town.
104 South Main Street
(704) 896-7743
davidsonsodashop.com
— Lindsay Gramling
For 127 years, this Wilson County store has been keeping its community well supplied — by relying on people just as much as what’s on the shelves.
In art class, we learn to notice texture, form, color, and light. On the plate, those same techniques guide chefs, bakers, and makers across North Carolina, turning ingredients into compositions meant to be admired before they’re savored.
A full tray, an ice-cold sweet tea, and a midday break bring us back to our days at the K&W Cafeteria.
Explore hidden gardens and tasty places to eat and drink in Charlotte’s historic neighborhood.
