Staff photo by Angie Baan

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

A

Feigenson

grandson Matt

Rosenthal

s bakers in Russia, Jewish broth-
ers Ben and Perry Feigenson
tantalized their shtetl customers
with delicious frosting recipes for their
cakes. But when they came to America
after the turn of the 20th century, they
opted for more liquid concoctions.
The duo opened Feigenson Brothers
Bottling Works Nov. 4, 1907, on Detroit's
Benton Street, creating a soft drink with
strawberry, fruit punch and grape flavors
based on those frosting recipes. They
would produce the soda one day, then
close the factory the next and deliver their
drinks by horse and wagon. It sold for
three cents a bottle, or two for a nickel.
The brothers later delivered seltzer in a
siphon bottle.
It was just Feigenson soda at first, but
several years later, they came up with
the catchy Faygo name — "Feigenson"
wouldn't fit on the containers. They called
it "pop" because of the sound made when
the bottle was opened.
In today's soda pop world, mostly domi-
nated by Coke and Pepsi, Faygo has sur-
vived nicely and is spending most of this
year celebrating its 100th anniversary.
"It's been a tough fight, but we're hold-
ing our own," stated Matt Rosenthal, 63, of
Farmington Hills, Faygo's director of mar-
keting and communications.
He's a third-generation Feigenson and
the only family member still active in the
business. "The competition is formidable;
the colas spend more money on advertis-
ing alone in a year than we gross. We may
not be ahead in the overall fight, but we
win a lot of little battles."
It's difficult to tell exactly how Faygo
stands saleswise and financially. Faygo

Detroit Favorite on page 54

September 13 p 2007

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