Dublin's tearful farewell to Dr Pepper

by CRAIG CIVALE / WFAA

DUBLIN, Texas — Dublin Dr Pepper is no more.

The Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company has sold its rights to produce the iconic beverage in a settlement over a long-running feud.

The plant opened more than a century ago, filling containers with Dr Pepper made with pure cane sugar. But the oldest Dr Pepper bottler in the world has now produced its final "pick me up."

The development is cutting deep, stripping the very identity of this small Erath County town 75 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

It is the conclusion of a lawsuit pitting Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group and its most famous bottling plant — a 120-year-old facility that started building a brand that later defined this community....

But Michael Davis at SMU's Cox School of Business doesn't think this will hurt the company in the long-term. "Dr Pepper is walking a fine line to protect bottlers and protect its image as sort of a 'good guy' company," he said.