I know earlier this year i said i was gonna go up north, but extenuating circumstances kept me from going. That situation has now passed. My favorite group will be playing in DC in May, and I am DEFINITELY going. I just wanna know what sodas and Mistics they have over there that I may be interested in. Here's what I'm looking for:

Barq's
Big Red
any new soda in that area

Mistic....
any new flavors that just came out BESIDES Pear Passion and Pineapple Guava
Strawberry Banana
Purple Reign
Cranberry Peach
Pineapple Orange
Sparkling Mistic (all flavors)

Also, what grocery stores have the best selection.
I am not above heading into the Maryland area to shop since I've never been there.
I'm not sure if I'm taking I-95 or 29 up there, so if there are any spots on eitehr of those roads i should go to, let me know.

Thanks

Ok, here's the situation in DC.

Coke is CCE
Pepsi is PBG
Canada Dry Potomac is 3rd tier
Atlantic Beverages is 4th tier in the Baltimore area, not sure how far down they go towards DC, though.

Canada Dry does carry quite a few flavors of Mistic, from what I have seen.

Stay away from:

Giant - They distribute Snapple/Mistic through their own warehouse. Very limited selection.

Food Lion - Virtually no non-carb/new age section in their stores.

I believe Safeway also has a pretty boring selection.

You might have better luck at convenience stores. I'd try hitting a few of them and see what you come up with. When I go into a new area, I hit 2-3 of them, and usually find different things in each. Corporate stores like Wawa and Sheetz tend to be pretty mainstream, though.

I admit I don't know too much about the DC metro area. I used to go to that area a lot when I was younger, but not so much anymore. I know a lot more about the eastern part of the state (the other side of Baltimore), and I can say that I have seen a few of those Mistic flavors up this way.

Canada Dry Potomac also carries Welch's Peach, which seems to be pretty rare. They also produce their own line of sodas, called Rock Creek.

Weis Markets might have a location near where you are going. They have many Mistic flavors authorized in their system, but not all stores carry all the flavors.

www.weis.com

[ 12-31-2004, 01:17 PM: Message edited by: fusion ]

Weis has left Washington in the past few years. The only one even remotely close to Washington is in Manassas, VA which you won't travel through on 29 or 95. However, it's not far from 29, so I can get you directions there.

Barq's is available in 2L, 20 oz. and Fridge Packs from CCE Mid-Atlantic. Most stores should have it in Root Beer and Diet Root Beer. red Creme Soda is only distributed by Central Coke, which you will pass through their territory along Rt. 29 in Charlottesville. However, I don't think Red Creme is done in Virginia. You'd have to come up to my neck of the woods in Western Maryland to find Red Creme.

Big Red isn't available here, period. Pepsi Shenandoah, whose territory you will pass through if you take 29, has some interesting things, including NuGrape, and not interesting to you but to me, Sun Drop and Cheerwine. However, they don't sell the interesting stuff in Charlottesville, as they have Mountain Dew and Dr Pepper there, unlike their Staunton and Harrisonburg territories.

Welch's Strawberry and Peach are available in 20 oz. I believe only from Canada Dry Potomac. I rarely see these, but they're out there. You'll have to look hard. Diet Rite flavors are also abundant, all that are made CD Potomac does. They have Cola, White Grape, Tangerine, Red Raspberry, Strawberry Kiwi, Black Cherry and Golden Peach in 20 oz. and 6 packs of 20 oz.

A lot of the Giants carry Dad's Root Beer if that interests you. It's actually in Fridge Packs.

The supermarkets in Metro Washington are Giant, Safeway, Shoppers, Food Lion, Whole Foods, Super Fresh, Weis, Whole Foods, and Harris Teeter. I'd say of these the best drink selection in soft drinks is probably Giant. I've never been impressed w/Safeway's selection (Some stores carry only the staples of Coke). Weis doesn't carry anything anywhere (They have the worst soft drink selection..period). I'd say for Mistic/Snapple products, the best bet you have would be independents (there are a few) or c-stores. However, there's no main chain c-stores in Washington, since there are about 500 7-11's (You might think I'm kidding. I'm not).

Let me know what else you're looking for. Almost everything in terms of soft drinks is available somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic. I probably know where to find it, and how to get there. Of course, you'd have to sidetrack some, but it might be worth it.

500 7-11's?!?!? Wow...we don't have them at all here. I work for Harris Teeter, and as far as I know, the corporate office has tried constantly to discontinue Mistic in all of their stores. Yet, we can still special request them because they haven't taken any flavors out of the system. The Tropical Kiwi Lime hasn't been made in years, yet it's in our system. Our store doesn't sell Mistic, but in Danville, VA, they do (all old though). I might try to hit some of Maryland. The cheapest hotels online seem to be there. Thanks for your help, but if anyone else has any info, I'm open ears.

What areas are you looking on going into? With the number of bottlers and distributors around, some selections can vary widely depending on the area you're in.

I remember stopping at the Mr. Fuel in Carmel Church, VA (north of Richmond). They had a ton of Shasta and Fuze in the store.. I can't remember if they had Mistic, though.

I would try that Weis store in Manassas. You might get lucky. You could also try calling Canada Dry Potomac. (703) 321-6100

To get to Weis in Manassas, take I-95 to Exit 158. You'll be off into Woodbridge (home of Potomac Mills). Keep riding up Prince William Pkwy. for 11-12 miles until entering Manassas. When you enter Manassas, you will be at Liberia Ave. There is a shopping center at the corner of Liberia Ave. and Prince William Pkwy. That is where Weis is.

Keep riding down Liberia Ave. and you will find a Shoppers on your left. Past Wal-Mart at the intersection of Rt. 28 and Liberia, there is a Giant.

You will pass a Food Lion on your right along Prince William Pkwy. in Woodbridge, as well as a Safeway if you keep straight when Prince William Pkwy. veers to the left.

Well, I wasn't going too far away from DC, but then again, I was thinking about venturing into PA along 95. I'll just see what my mood is. I just found out that one of the concert dates I was going to was bogus, so I may have a full day to drive around. I'm more interested in the DC Metro, MD, and southern PA areas now. I just may take that 95 exit in Manassas. Sounds like lots of prospects there. I also have a book which tells you what's on each exit of all of USA's interstates. I'll use that as my guide.
Teamtitan, please keep an eye out for sparkling Mistics for me in your area. I remember during a bottle recall they had that they are available in MD. Please let me know. Thanks.

I'll see what I can find here in MD w/Mistic. I know some of it is available locally, but that would be really out of your way.

You also on that route, get every DC market chain, except for Harris Teeter, which you know what they have (There's like 3 anyway, only in VA). Wegmans is also there (1 store) but their selection on drinks is terrible (They're more into selling 47 types of sushi and other stuff than being a normal market).

With Wegman's, the "secret" is going into the natural/organic section. They have the interesting stuff over there. You also might find some stuff in the international foods sections.

DCDan, can you help me please?