We're happy to introduce a new brand to our store: Day's Beverages soda is now available at Gaiss' Market! Come in on and check out six new flavors of high quality, locally made soda from Day's.
Day's Beverages is the largest independent, private label, soft beverage company in the US. We decided to bring Day's into the shop because of the rising costs of the traditional name brands. We love Day's local history and decades of hard work from three generations.
It all started in Philadelphia. At 16 years old, the son of immigrant parents scraping by during the Great Depression in the mid 1930's, Alfred "Freddy Day" DiGirolamo attempted to steal a case of soda off a truck with his friend. Once caught, he begged the driver to let him work as a helper instead of calling the police. The drive obliged and allowed DiGirolamo to work for two years.
He loved the business and later ended up going his own way. He and his wife secured the rights to produce Pepsi in Philadelphia. Years later, Pepsi bought out all the distributors, giving DiGirolamo the money he needed to start Day's. At the peak, Day's was making 150,000 cases of soda each year, a small fraction of what it produces today.
Eventually, the industry got tough; the US-Cuba relationship got tense and sugar prices skyrocketed. This put strain on the business and Day's Beverages started to decline. DiGirolamo operated Day's for two decades before his death in 1967. While the business died with him, it wasn't the true end of Day's.
For thirty years the plant was closed before being resurrected in 1997 by DiGirolamo's sons, David and Freddy Jr. When one of the sons overheard a woman in a store asking for a 3 liter bottle of soda, he got the idea to do just that. Day's returned and started producing one million cases each year! (as noted in a 2011 bizjournals.com article)
At Gaiss', we love a family owned business that knows what grit is! The DiGirolamo family is filled with hard workers and three generations of determined men working to make Day's a household name across the country.
Stop in and try Day's! We have the following in stock (2/8/24): 2 Liter - Cola, Ginger Ale; 24 oz - Black Cherry, Ginger Ale; Cans - Cola, Ginger Ale, Root Beer, Black Cherry, Cream, and Orange.
Photo credit: dayssoda.com