Tik Tak / California Bottling Co


Company Names, addresses, dates: 1
  Tik Tak, Washington DC
  California Bottling Co, 208-210 Mass Ave NE, Washington DC (1924-1925)
  Geo H. Mezitis, 208-210 Mass Ave NE, Washington DC (1927-1928)
  Root Pop Bottling Co , 208-210 Mass Ave NE, Washington DC (1929)

Notes:
Tik Tak doesn't show up in any Washington DC city directories, however the patent for the TIK TAK logo was filed by the California Bottling Company Inc. of Washington DC. The patent was filed June 25, 1927, with a claim that it had been in use since December 16, 1926.

George H. Mezitis (1876-1945)2 was the proprietor of the California Bottling Company3.
DC city directories for 1924 & 1925 listed that company at 208-210 Mass Ave NE. The city directories for 1927 & 1928 listed Mezitis by name at that address, and the 1929 directory listed the Root Pop bottling company at that address. I don't know if Mezitis ran the Root Pop bottling company, or if he had sold the company.
There are no listings of a bottler at that address that I could find after 1929.

The Root Pop bottling company doesn't show up again in DC city directories until 1944. There are some newspaper mentions about Root Pop & Root Rock starting in 1934, but the location of the company had moved to 413 2nd St NW, and I could find no indication that George Mezitis was still affiliated with the company at that time. 4
It may be a coincidence, but the design of the bottle below does bear some resemblance to that of one of the Root Pop bottles, book #598.


Bottles:

tiktak_01 book # (unlisted)
This is an 8.8" clear crown top bottle embossed:
around shoulder: (6 hearts)
front: DRINK / TIK (heart with arrow through it) TAK / TRADE MARK REG / 10 FL. OZ. / WASHINGTON, D.C.
back: DRINK / TIK (heart with arrow through it) TAK / TRADE MARK REG / 10 FL. OZ. / WASHINGTON, D.C.
around heel: (6 hearts) / PATENTED D.O.C. 660-3

1 Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia (various years)
2 Evening Star (Wash DC), 10-Jul-1945, page 12 (obituary)
3 Evening Star (Wash DC), 1-Aug-1924, page 5 (article: Bottler Wins Case)
4 The Washington Times, 3-Dec-1934, page 26 (want ad)


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This page last updated on August 11, 2023.