8559 West Jefferson Avenue
John Kar Bottling Works, O-So-Good Pop
By 1909, John Kar had a saloon in Delray called the John Kar Cafe. The watering hole was located at 2166 W. Jefferson, near the thoroughfare’s modern-day intersection with Anderson Street near the rail line to Zug Island. The saloon would be there until at least 1917. The structure would stand until at least the 1960s.
At some point, John was married to a woman named Helen. They had children together; however, Helen died in 1914. That same year, John married Julia Merkiel. At some point, the family moved to a farm in Belleville that’s still there today on Karr Road. I’m unsure whether the road was named after the family, but considering it’s spelled differently, I’d assume not.
John Kar had at least three children, John, Irene, and Edward. I’m unsure if all these children were with Helen or whether some were with Julia.
According to ‘Detroit, It’s Bottled History in Glass and Clay,’ John Kar purchased the A. R. Andrews and Son Bottling Works In 1922. Initially run by Albert R. Andrews, the operation was on Lyle Street for several years. I believe Lyle was one of many streets that were wiped out entirely by the construction of the Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant in 1940.
I’m not certain where the Kar family bottled their pops when they first purchased the bottling works. It may have still been on Lyle Street, or they may have immediately moved operations to 8559 West Jefferson Avenue, pictured here.
Regardless of when and where, the John Kar Bottling Works was a neighborhood favorite. Many of their ads were in Hungarian, as much of Delray’s population had ties to Hungary. Ads read Kar János es Fiai, or John Kar & Sons. Their pop brand, O-So-Good, was a favorite among children and adults alike. Although their bottling plant was in Delray, I believe that the family lived in Belleville.
John Kar died in 1951, 29 years after he purchased the bottling works. The family, namely his son, Ed, continued running the company as Delray became more industrial and polluted. John II died in 1954, which was a surprise to the family. Julia, John I’s second wife, died in 1970.
By 1972, the John Kar Bottling Works had been sold to John S. Magyordi. He continued operating the business. By this point, you could still buy pop in-store, but Delray’s population was dwindling as the decades passed. Many folks recall purchasing large quantities of pop from the operation for weddings, parties, and school events.
Scott, a friend of this page, recalls visiting John Kar Bottling Works in the late 1970s when he first arrived in Detroit. “When they were bottling, I remember a Hungarian lady running the machine who didn't seem to speak much English.” Even into the 1980s, Delray’s Hungarian roots were still evident. Scott also spoke about the operation closing for some time and then reopening with new owners, who changed the recipe, for the worse, in his opinion. This may have been the era after Sandor ‘Al’ Radic purchased the property and business.
John Kar Bottling Works closed for good in the early 1990s. By this time, Delray was a shell of its former self. The city had shoved so much heavy industry down residents’ throats that it was near impossible for the neighborhood to gain new residents. Small soft drink manufacturers were a thing of the past. Brands like Coke and Pepsi started to hog the market share in the United States and abroad, leaving the little guys in the dust. There has been a resurgence of craft manufacturing in recent years; however, it isn’t close to what it once was. Due to the neighborhood’s decline and the industry’s downfall, John Kar never stood a chance in the modern era.
After that, I don’t know what happened to the structure. Sandor “Al” Radic passed away in 2017, but I’m not sure he owned it at the time of his death. I believe it was lost to foreclosure at some point, leaving it in the hands of the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department. Considering how many structures owned by the P&DD are on Death’s door, I don’t feel good about the future of this one.
The bank next door, covered in an earlier post, has an owner, at least for now. Perhaps the owner of that structure could purchase the old John Kar Bottling Works. Or, if they plan to sell that structure, the new owner could buy the neighboring property, too.
At times, when it comes to preserving any part of Delray, it feels like trying to grab smoke with your bare hands. City officials didn’t care about the people of Delray then, and they don’t care now.
Hopefully, this one can be saved. I’m not holding my breath.
Special thanks to Kevin Kar, John Kar’s great-great-grandnephew, and Scott Flaugher for help researching this post and assisting my understanding of the industry.
