New Wilkes-Barre soda brand Parlor Beverages taking pre-orders for root beer and birch beer
From a press release:
In March, a new company called Parlor Beverages announced that it would be creating craft sodas in Wilkes-Barre.
Now, this lifestyle brand built on nostalgia and rock ‘n’ roll is telling soda drinkers to “get ready for a mouthful of madness” – $10 four-packs of root beer, butterscotch root beer, and birch beer, as well as custom $30 12-packs, are available for pre-order at drinkparlor.com. Domestic shipping across the U.S. and local pickup are available.
The first 200 people to order will get a free deck of Parlor playing cards featuring the slick artwork shown on the bottles and, in just a few days, hundreds of orders have already poured in. That’s likely because of the big local personalities involved.
Parlor was founded by owner John Phillips, owner of MCR Design Group and 900 Management in Kingston and tour manager for Body Count and Public Enemy; Aaron Bruch, bassist and vocalist for multi-platinum-selling Wilkes-Barre rock band Breaking Benjamin; Josh Balz, former member of Scranton metal band Motionless In White and current owner of The Strange & Unusual Oddities Parlor and Steamy Hallows Coffee Shop in Kingston, Batty Fang Salon in Wilkes-Barre, and the new Noir Dark Spirits in Scranton; and Kris Jones, an entrepreneur, investor, co-founder of talent booking platform Special Guest App, and owner of SEO company LSEO.
“Last year during the pandemic, I had the craziest idea – start sampling root beers from all over the country. I just loved everything about root beer. Then I had another idea – partner with some of my favorite people in the area that are beasts at what they do and start our own brand. Today, that journey has officially begun with our launch,” Phillips said.
“Root beer is a lifestyle. It invokes a specific memory when you think about it. Whether you were at an ice cream parlor with your grandparents, you just got done with a hard day’s work and you opened a cold bottle, having root beer floats with your friends as a kid, it is the one drink that gets you excited because it is nostalgic.
“Parlor Beverages is a lifestyle for everybody. Whether you love the arts, your family, music, a straight edge lifestyle, living dangerously, whether your viewpoints are conservative or liberal, you value hard work, being a traveler, Parlor is all of us.”
Before the bottles officially hit shelves, Parlor is giving away a “first taste of Parlor” as well as tickets, VIP passes, airfare, and a hotel stay for Blue Ridge Rock Festival, which will be held on Sept. 9-12 in Lynchburg, Virginia. To enter, visit drinkparlor.com and type in your name, email, and zip code.
Phillips, a West Pittston resident, is also the director of business development for the Blue Ridge Rock Festival. A few days ago, event organizers confirmed that the entire weekend is sold out.
“Rock’s not dead. 160,000. Just four days after releasing our full lineup, Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2021 is now sold out. Thank you,” the festival shared on social media.
“We will never stop listening to you, fighting for you, breaking the status quo, and innovating to curate a festival that we truly hope becomes the highlight of your year – every year. This festival was not built on business, it was founded on you. It was constructed to harness the passionate love we share for rock and metal, to bring unity and joy to the masses. We may be small, we may be young, but something special is happening here. We are the fan driven rock experience. our underdog story lives on.”
With all the major soda brands out there, Parlor is starting to write its own underdog story rooted in childhood memories, which can be heard in these short interview clips on Instagram:
