A soda shop, also often known as a malt shop (after

malted milk Malted milk or malt powder is a powdered gruel made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but it is also used in baking ...

) and as a “malted shop” in Canada, is a business akin to an

ice cream parlor Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are places that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard se ...

and a

drugstore A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmaci ...

soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concentra ...

. Interiors were often furnished with a large mirror behind a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

counter with goose-neck soda spouts, plus spinning stools, round marble-topped tables, and wireframe sweetheart chairs.

History

The counter-service soda fountain was introduced in 1903. Around that time, drugstores began to attract noontime customers by adding sandwiches and light lunches. The beverage menu at a soda shop usually included

ice cream soda An ice cream float or ice cream soda (also known as a spider in Australia and New Zealand), is a chilled beverage that consists of ice cream in either a soft drink or a mixture of flavored syrup and carbonated water. When root beer and vanil ...

s, chocolate malts, fountain

cola Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imi ...

s, and milkshakes. In the first decades of the 20th century, the shops were also considered sober alternatives to bars as social venues. A 1915 issue of ''Soda Fountain'' magazine said: "The soda fountain of today is an ally of

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture * Temperance (group), Canadian dan ...

... Ice cream soda is a greater medium for the cause of temperance than all the sermons ever preached on that subject."

In popular culture

During the 1930s and 1940s, the

jukeboxes A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...

in such establishments made them popular gathering spots for teenagers, as noted in the 1940s song "Jukebox Saturday Night" (tune by Paul McGrane and lyrics by Al Stillman): :Moppin' up soda pop rickies :To our hearts' delight, :Dancing to a swingeroo quickie, :Jukebox Saturday night... Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe is a fictional soda shop created by

Bob Montana Robert William Montana (October 23, 1920 – January 4, 1975) was an American comic strip artist who created the original likenesses for characters published by Archie Comics and in the newspaper strip ''Archie''. Early life He was born in Stock ...

as a setting for the characters in his ''Archie'' comic books and comic strips. It was based on real-life locations frequented by teenagers in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

in the 1930s, the Crown Confectionery and the Chocolate Shop on Merrimack Street, and the Tuscarora on Winter Street; and the character of Pop Tate was inspired by the Haverhill shops' Greek immigrant owners. In the years 1936 to 1939, when Montana went to high school in Haverhill, he joined his friends at the Chocolate Shop counter and made sketches on napkins. A decade prior to ''Archie'', the Sugar Shop was a hangout for the teenagers in Carl Ed's comic strip '' Harold Teen''. Soda shops are often settings in films and TV shows. In ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

s "

Walking Distance "Walking Distance" is episode five of the American television series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on October 30, 1959. The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of ''The Twilight Zone'' by ''Time'' magazine. ...

" episode, a soda shop is a framing device and a link to the past for Martin Sloan (

Gig Young Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in ''Come Fill the Cup'' (1952) and '' Teacher's Pet'' ...

). The popular TV show ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' took place in two main sets: the protagonist's home and a soda shop. The shops appear in films including '' Harold Teen'' (1934),

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

' '' The Stranger'' (1946), '' Has Anybody Seen My Gal?'' (1952) and '' Pleasantville'' (1998). The gang from

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

are often seen frequenting a malt shop. A malt shop also plays a key point in '' Blast from the Past'', reflecting changes in the surface world while the main characters are underground, unaware of what has happened. The protagonist of the

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel '' Have Spacesuit Will Travel'' by Robert A. Heinlein works in a drug store soda fountain.

References

{{Reflist

External links

1920s-1930s soda fountain recipesHistory of Detroit ice cream parlors
Restaurants by type Fast-food restaurants

History

In popular culture

See also

References

External links