Duke Bakery To Relaunch Historic Soda Line

Our Daily Show Interview! Duke Bakery: Duke Beverage Launch Set for Saturday!

ALTON — Duke Bakery, a longtime fixture in the Alton community, is set to relaunch its Duke Beverage line with a launch party scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. The event will celebrate the return of the bakery’s soda offerings.

The Doucleff family purchased Jackson Bottling Co. on Oct. 25, 1943, which is the reason for the significance of Saturday's date for the anniversary event. The soda plant closed in 1954.

Mike and Helen Doucleff opened Duke Bakery in 1951. The business now has locations at 819 Henry St. in Alton and 3202 Nameoki Road in Granite City.

The current Duke Bakery beverage lineup includes orange, cocoa crème, root beer, cola, grape, strawberry, and blue raspberry — a modern addition to fit the tastes of Hollis’s 14-year-old daughter and the youth of her generation. All beverages will be sold in glass bottles, emphasizing the nostalgic appeal.

Ben Hollis, representing Duke Bakery, shared details during a recent Our Daily Show! with C.J. Nasello interview about the bakery’s plans and the historical significance of the beverage line to the Doucleff family.

“Duke Beverages brought the Doucleff family here in 1943 and allowed them to buy a bakery in 1951,” Hollis said. "This was probably the most fun I have had in a long time, doing this with the soda offerings. I am excited about doing this. If we sell a lot, that is awesome, but if not, it is for the history of the business."

The bakery operated both the soda plant and bakery for a few years before shifting focus exclusively to baked goods, as larger companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominated the soda market. Hollis explained that the idea to revive the beverage line began around 2010 but gained momentum in anticipation of the bakery’s 75th anniversary. During this process, the team uncovered historical documents, including sales contracts, delivery receipts, and cancelled checks dating back to the 1940s and early 1950s, which provided insight into the bakery’s soda operations.

“We found the sales contract when Mr. Duke bought Jackson Bottling Co. and found certification for delivery vehicles, receipts. Finding all this documentation was really cool,” Hollis said. Some original equipment and bottles from the soda plant are now displayed at the bakery’s location on 8th and Henry streets in Alton.

Reviving the beverage line presented challenges, particularly in finding experts capable of reproducing the original soda formulas. “There aren’t many people out there, with a handful in the Midwest and California,” Hollis noted. The bakery partnered with a bottler in Ohio to develop flavors inspired by the original recipes. While not exact recreations, the new flavors aim to capture the spirit of the originals.

Hollis described the branding as blending nostalgia with a modern look, based on research into historical logos. "It has a nostalgic look but also looks modern, and that was the goal,” he said.

Initially, the sodas will be available primarily at the Duke Bakery locations, but may expand and be sold at other area stores.

For the future, shipping logistics remain a consideration given the use of glass bottles.

The Duke Beverage launch party on Saturday will offer the community a chance to sample the new sodas and celebrate the bakery’s enduring legacy in Alton.

More like this:

Duke Bakery to Launch Mobile Food Trailer for Events

Feb 4, 2026

Celebrate Route 66 in 2026

May 2, 2026

Duke Bakery Outlines Super Bowl, Valentine's and Mardi Gras Deals Ahead of Bakery's 75th Anniversary

Feb 4, 2026

Alton Hosts Fifth Annual Community Easter Egg Hunt

Mar 31, 2026

Middletown Neighborhood Celebrates Twelfth Night

Jan 7, 2026