January’s Treasure of the Month features items related to the Triple XXX Company, which produced root beer, cola, and other soft drinks.
Triple XXX’s origins began with the Galveston Brewing Company, which was founded in 1895 by St. Louis brewers Adolphus Busch (of Anheuser-Busch fame) and William Lemp. The Galveston Brewing Company produced and sold “High Grade” brand beer, which was packed in oak barrels marked “XXX.” This stamp symbolized the quality of the product – one X was good, two XX was better, and three XXX was the best of the best.
Between 1900 and 1908, the Galveston Brewing Company began to expand its offerings to soft drink syrups, patenting the name “XXX” in 1908. The syrup flavors included root beer, ginger ale, lemon, chocolate, and more, that would be sold to soda fountains and mixed with soda water for customers directly in-store.
In 1916, the state of Texas outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, four years before the 18th Amendment passed, ushering in the Prohibition Era. The Galveston Brewing Company was forced to reorganize into the Southern Beverage Company and began focusing on producing XXX soft drinks, primarily root beer and ginger ale. In 1918, the company patented “Triple XXX” as the new brand name for these drinks, with the slogan “The Aristocrat of Them All!”
The company began to expand, and by 1923, Triple XXX was sold in 15 states as well as British Columbia. There were over 150 Triple XXX bottling plants and 100 “Thirst Stations” – soda fountains and restaurants. In 1927, the company was renamed as Triple XXX Company, and in 1928, a cola flavor was added to the lineup.
However, this period of growth was halted by the Great Depression, and Triple XXX Company was forced to reorganize once more. After Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933, the company merged with Magnolia Brewery in Houston to become Galveston-Houston Breweries, Inc., and began selling beer again along with its popular soft drinks. Galveston-Houston Breweries was also hit hard by World War II sugar rationing, and the number of Thirst Stations, breweries, and distributors began to decrease.
In 1953, the owner of the company retired, and the company changed hands and names several times over the following decades. In 1978, the Lydick Corporation bought the company and merged with it to become Triple XXX Corporation. The company launched an aggressive marketing campaign with the slogan “Tastes like root beer used to taste.” The campaign was briefly successful, but the company still struggled to franchise to bottlers and distributors.
In the 1980s and 1990s, many independently owned bottlers began to close as larger soft drink companies like Dr Pepper/7-Up, Pepsi-Cola, and Coca-Cola began to take over the market. These major brands also sold their own root beer and cola drinks, making it harder for companies like Triple XXX Corporation to compete. Triple XXX ceased bottling in 1985 and distributed only through soda fountains and restaurants.
By the 2000’s, only two Triple XXX Root Beer restaurants still operated, in West Lafayette, Indiana and Issaquah, Washington. The Washington location closed in 2023; however, the Indiana store remains open, since the owners of the restaurant were able to purchase the Triple XXX Root Beer brand, rights, and formula in 2008. Triple XXX Root Beer can still be purchased online and in retail stores across Indiana.
