Only One State Has A Triple XXX Root Beer Stand

A delicious glass of ice-cold root beer is an American classic, so much so that we have entire restaurants dedicated to the stuff and foods that go along with it. But among those restaurants, there's only one left that belongs to the Triple XXX root beer brand, and it's situated in the state of Indiana. Despite the name, Triple XXX isn't a hard beverage but is typical nonalcoholic root beer.

Once upon a time, Triple XXX had hundreds of "Thirst Station" drive-in diners set up across the nation, where patrons enjoyed American comfort foods like hamburgers, French fries, and yes, frosty mugs of the signature root beer. Today, there's only one such location left, known as Triple XXX Family Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana. It's been in business since 1929, so while its age doesn't compare to Indiana's oldest restaurant, the Log Inn (established in 1825), it's still an Indiana landmark and the Triple XXX brand itself is sometimes considered an informal symbol of the Hoosier State.

Triple XXX Root Beer's name comes from the X grading system used in the 19th century. The quality (and sometimes strength) of products like sugar, beer, or gunpowder was measured with X marks. Essentially, X was good, XX was great, and XXX was the best. When it came time to name the company, the founders chose Triple XXX to show customers that its products were the best.

Though Indiana's Triple XXX restaurant was established in 1929, the actual brand is older. It originates in Galveston, Texas, where it was first produced by the Southern Beverage Company (originally the Galveston Brewing Company) following Prohibition and the First World War. Since the manufacture and sale of alcohol was no longer allowed under Prohibition, the company had to switch to soft drinks, which is how Triple XXX came to be.

Throughout its lifetime, ownership of Triple XXX has passed through different hands. In 1969, it was bought out by the Dr. Pepper company, which controlled it until 2008. At that point, it was bought by Greg and Carrie Ehresman. Greg became an employee of the Triple XXX restaurant in 1969, making the signature root beer. To this day, the two still own both the restaurant and the Triple XXX brand.

Today, Triple XXX Root Beer is certainly sold in Indiana's Triple XXX restaurant, but it can also be found throughout the nation in both online and brick-and-mortar retailers, providing one of the key ingredients in America's homemade root beer floats. It's beloved among out-of-towners and Hoosiers alike, and while root beer is one of those American foods that the rest of the world doesn't quite understand, there's no denying that Triple XXX is a favorite.