Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
San Diego, CA
Fizz & flavor: Downtown San Diego’s lost soda fountains
Before coffee chains and fast-casual counters defined everyday routines, soda fountains were part of the social fabric of downtown San Diego. Behind marble counters and rows of chrome stools, soda jerks worked quickly and precisely, mixing flavored syrups, carbonated water, and ice cream into drinks that were as much about experience as refreshment.
The work was part craft, part performance. Glasses clinked, syrup bottles lined mirrored shelves, and conversations unfolded across counters that served as informal gathering places for neighbors, students, and workers alike.
From the 1920s through the 1950s, soda fountains were woven into the rhythm of downtown life — stops between errands, after-school meeting spots, and casual places where people lingered over malts, sodas, and sundaes.
From pharmacy counters to social spaces
Soda fountains originated in late 19th-century pharmacies, where carbonated water and flavored syrups were first offered as refreshing tonics. Over time, these counters evolved beyond retail service and became informal social spaces embedded in everyday urban life.
By the early 20th century, soda fountains were common fixtures in downtown commercial corridors. They attracted families shopping in nearby stores, office workers on breaks, and teenagers gathering after school.
Historical references indicate that downtown San Diego included a range of soda fountain counters during this period, often operating inside drugstores, lunch counters, and small independent shops.
Downtown favorites and neighborhood counters
Among the establishments documented in historical references and city directory listings was United Soda Fountain, which opened in 1939 and became a steady downtown gathering place known for classic counter service, ice cream sodas, and milkshakes.
Wimer’s Soda Fountain is also referenced in historical accounts as part of the downtown dining landscape, reflecting the broader popularity of small, independently run soda counters that served regular customers by name.
Soda fountains were also commonly integrated into drugstores and neighborhood markets. The Ace Drug Store in Mission Hills, for example, is cited in historical references as a location where malts, egg creams, and simple lunch fare were served alongside pharmacy goods.
On Market Street, Gadson’s Store appears in 1920s and 1930s-era commercial records as part of the downtown retail corridor, combining general merchandise with a soda fountain counter typical of the era.
These establishments reflected a broader pattern in which food service and retail were closely intertwined, and where soda fountains functioned as informal neighborhood anchors.
The sights and sounds of the counter
What defined soda fountains was not just the menu, but the sensory experience.
There was the hiss of carbonation hitting flavored syrup, the rhythmic clink of glassware, and the visual display of colored bottles lined behind mirrored counters. Customers often sat shoulder to shoulder, watching drinks prepared in real time.
Menus typically included chocolate malts, root beer floats, phosphates, and ice cream sundaes topped with whipped cream and cherries. Many soda fountains also served simple food items such as sandwiches, chili, and light lunch plates.
Archival photographs from the San Diego History Center and other historical collections depict these spaces as active social environments, with soda jerks behind counters and customers gathered in close conversation.
The end of an era
By the late 1950s and into the 1960s, soda fountains began to decline as suburban expansion, automobile culture, and national fast-food chains reshaped dining habits across the country.
As retail patterns shifted, many independent drugstores and small lunch counters closed or removed their fountain service entirely. The social role once played by soda fountains gradually moved to diners, drive-ins, and later, chain restaurants.
What remains today are photographs, directory listings, and oral histories that preserve the memory of a downtown culture built around shared counters and informal gathering spaces.
Legacy
Though soda fountains have largely disappeared from the urban landscape, their influence remains visible in the continued popularity of ice cream shops, retro diners, and nostalgic soda-style beverages.
They represent a period in San Diego’s history when a simple drink was not just a transaction, but an invitation to pause, gather, and connect.
Read more history stories here; send an email to Debbiesklar@cox.net
Sources:
San Diego History Center Archives — photographic collections and historical materials documenting soda fountains and early downtown retail environments.
San Diego City Directories (1920s–1950s), San Diego Public Library Special Collections — business listings for drugstores, soda fountains, and lunch counters.
San Diego Union and Evening Tribune Archives (via Newspapers.com and California Digital Newspaper Collection) — advertisements, listings, and commercial references to soda fountains and drugstores.
Library of Congress — historic imagery and documentation of American soda fountains and pharmacy counters.
Smithsonian Institution — historical research on American soda fountains and early 20th-century consumer culture.
City of San Diego Planning Department historic context reports — retail and commercial development patterns in early and mid-century San Diego.
San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
Authors
Little Debbie is officially expanding its doughnut range.
On April 14, the brand announced a new sweet snack: Chocolate Old Fashioned Donuts. The company says there was “massive consumer demand” for the original Big Pack Old Fashioned Donuts, which quickly became a top seller. Now, they’re just giving the people what they want.
The new snack is a chocolate old-fashioned cake doughnut finished with a sweet glaze and is launching in two formats:
- The Big Pack Carton: This box contains six doughnuts in a retro-inspired package that reflects the brand’s heritage.
- Single-serve doughnuts: There are also 3-ounce, individually wrapped Chocolate Old Fashioned Donuts, which the brand suggests pairing with a morning coffee or eating on a midday break.
The original, which includes six individually wrapped cake-style doughnuts with a vanilla glaze, first hit stores in June 2025 and, according to the brand, has been “consistently selling out.”
“We saw an incredible response to the Old Fashioned Donut we introduced last year,” said Scott Brownlow, Little Debbie’s brand manager, in a press release. We’re doubling down on what works and giving both loyalists and new fans an irresistible reason to head back to the store.”
Little Debbie’s Chocolate Old Fashioned Donuts are rolling out now to major retailers, grocery stores and convenience stores nationwide. As with the original Old Fashioned Donut, they become a permanent addition to the brand’s snack lineup.
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