Pepsi's Beginnings
in New Bern

You never know what legacy you might leave the next millennium. When New Bern's would-be pharmacist Caleb Bradham concocted what he called Brad's Drink in 1898, he couldn't possibly have guessed what impact it would have on twentieth-century culture and beyond. The ultimate fate of his peppy solution, which he later named Pepsi-Cola, would have seemed as far-fetched to him as satellite TV or computers.

In 1998 Pepsi-Cola, now an international corporation, celebrated its 100th anniversary, and the local Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New Bern opened The Birthplace of Pepsi Cola at the corner of Middle and Pollock Streets, (252) 636-5898. This shop includes a reproduction of the soda fountain where Bradham first served his popular drink and includes local Pepsi memorabilia. You also can purchase a variety of merchandise emblazoned with the Pepsi logo. Outside, a historical marker on Pollock Street also marks the spot where Brad's Drink was invented.

Caleb Bradham, born in 1867 in Chinquapin, North Carolina, just wanted to be a pharmacist. He graduated from the University of North Carolina and started medical school. Due to family finances, he had to leave school. Bradham then relocated to New Bern and became a high school teacher. When Bradham learned that a drugstore was being offered for sale at the corner of Middle and Pollock streets, he bought it with the help of investment partners. Bradham worked at the drugstore and studied until he passed the Board of Pharmacy examination in 1895 with the highest score that year.

This Broad Street drugstore (now the location of The Chelsea restaurant) was the second location of Bradham's drugstore. He invented Pepsi in his original pharmacy, which was located on the corner of Middle and Pollock Street, where a reproduction of his soda fountain exists today.
Photo: Benner's Studio

Soon thereafter, Bradham concocted a new drink for his soda fountain that he called Brad's Drink. His advertising described Brad's Drink as "exhilarating, invigorating and aids digestion." By 1898, young Bradham had bought the store from his partners and he named the new carbonate Pepsi-Cola. Bradham began his cola operation on an organized basis in 1903. The company packaged the syrup for sale to other soda fountains. The bottling process was on the rise and, by 1910, had exceeded sales at soda fountains. Business boomed until right after the World War I years, when sugar jumped from 5.5¢ a pound to 22.5¢ a pound. For Pepsi-Cola, which was retailing at 5¢ per bottle, this spelled financial disaster. After collapsing into bankruptcy, the company changed hands four times before winding up in 1931 as a subsidiary of Loft, parent company of today's internationally known Pepsi-Cola.

Bradham continued to run the Bradham Drug Company until his death in 1934, but he never saw any of the media frenzy surrounding his drink, such as Michael Jackson dancing with a Pepsi or Ray Charles crooning about the right thing.

You can see Caleb Bradham's home, which still stands on the corner of Johnson and E. Front streets. You can also visit the building at the corner of Broad and Middle streets that was leased by the Bradham Drug Company for the second location of its state-of-the-art drugstore pharmacy. The building now houses The Chelsea restaurant, which features a wall mural depicting the Pepsi-Cola story. At Middle and Pollock streets, near the historical marker, you're going to find it hard to resist ordering Brad's Drink at the Pepsi store — or anywhere else in New Bern.