Thanks to Zachary Harris, your Library’s local history and genealogy specialist, for sharing the history of Johnson City’s beloved soda, Dr. Enuf. In our “History Under the Blue Ridge” series, Zachary highlights intriguing stories he finds during his work in the Tennessee Room.
“Enuf is enough,” goes the catchphrase adorning the locally beloved Dr. Enuf soda bottles. It’s safe to say that you probably see those stubby green bottles everywhere you go in the Tri-Cities, from vending machines, to grocery store shelves, to gas stations.
So how did Dr. Enuf get its start here? And how did this ubiquitous drink become so popular in the Tri-Cities? And why the “Dr.” in Dr. Enuf? Pulling information from the Library’s local history collection, I found answers and context to these questions.
The founder of Tri-City Beverage Corporation, Charles O. Gordon Sr., purchased the recipe in 1949 from Chicago chemist William Mark Swartz. Swartz had been challenged to invent a soda with nutritional value to cure his coworkers’ lethargy. Gordon saw an ad for Dr. Enuf that Swartz had placed in the National Bottlers’ Gazette, and he bought the formula rights. He brought it back to his bottling company in the Tri-Cities and began production.
Dr. Enuf, which was marketed as a vitamin and mineral miracle tonic, stood out early in its production because of its supposed “pick-me-up” qualities. It was also known for its hefty price tag. In its first few years, a 4-bottle carton of Dr. Enuf retailed at 98 cents. At a time when most sodas were just a few cents per bottle, Dr. Enuf was supposedly worth this price tag due to its ability to cure “untold agony because of vitamin deficiencies” (Johnson City Press-Chronicle, June 27, 1951).
Gordon and his bottling company rolled out the proverbial red carpet for Dr. Enuf’s arrival in the Tri-Cities. After the soda’s release to the public in 1951, the marketing campaign was massive and wildly successful.
Bumper stickers reading “Dr. Enuf is Here” appeared all over Johnson City, and a banner announcing “The Dr. Has Arrived” was hung across Main Street. Drug stores put up massive displays claiming the miraculous powers of the beverage.
The Johnson City Press-Chronicle was inundated with full page ads that touted the drink’s health benefits and shared customer testimonials. The “Dr.” in Dr. Enuf played a big part in early advertising for the drink. The “Dr.” could rejuvenate “life-giving” cells and bring its drinkers “true health.” Ads in the paper throughout the summer of 1951 claimed that Dr. Enuf could heal everything from upset nerves, stomach aches, sleeplessness, and general listlessness and weakness. An ad that appeared in the paper on August 19 went so far as to tout the soda’s ability to restore youthful vitality.
The ad campaign was so successful that soon the plant was running low on bottles and struggling to meet demand. The company put out calls for customers to return their bottles, and also warned people against “black market” Dr. Enuf bottles that were apparently circulating.
In the years since, a few variations of the beverage have popped up. The Tri-City Beverage Corporation began offering a diet version in 2000, unveiled an herbal flavor in 2002, and allowed the drink to appear on tap at Pal’s Sudden Service locations. In 2004, the company began packaging Dr. Enuf in plastic bottles for the first time.
Even with the success of Dr. Enuf variants, the stubby green glass bottle is still ubiquitous across our region. While we may question the early claims that Dr. Enuf—a combination of cane sugar and vitamin B—was a medical marvel, this original energy drink remains a staple for many Tri-Citians to this day. Even if it isn’t the miracle drug it was advertised as in the 1950s, I imagine it will stay in folks’ hands for a long time to come.
Much of this history was found in the Library’s new digital Johnson City Press archive, which dates back to 1934. This archive can only be accessed through the Library’s wifi on our public computers or your personal device. It is available courtesy of Ancestry and Newspapers.com.
