Inside the refrigerators at Corti Brothers in East Sacramento, bottles of River City Root Beer sit chilling near the deli counter. The name on the label is a nod to Sacramento and the waterways that it’s known for.
Janet and Bob Lake created and own the root beer brand, and for them, it’s personal. Their brand reflects the city where they put down roots and built out their business.
The couple got their start in the beverage distribution industry in Sacramento in 1999. At the time, they didn’t produce their own soda, but were learning the ins and outs of selling a beverage. Their work in distribution involved introducing themselves to store managers and convincing them to carry a product.
After about a decade in that business, the Lakes decided they wanted to take a shot at creating something of their own.
They began developing what would eventually become River City Root Beer. The process took about two years, during which they refined the flavor and built a brand around it. In 2009, the soda officially hit store shelves.
The brand now competes in a market dominated by plastic bottles and aluminum cans from large national brands. The Lakes say their focus will remain on glass-bottled sodas, which they say are key to its flavor and keep it more old-fashioned.
“We could go to cans and it would become a lot cheaper,” Bob said. “But do you think that product in a can would be just as good as it is in the bottle?”
Today, the brand includes four flavors: classic root beer, ginger beer, orange cream and blueberry lemonade. River City Root Beer is now sold in more than 600 grocery stores and restaurants across the state. The soda can be found at stores in the Sacramento region, including Raley’s, Nugget Markets, SaveMart and Lira’s Grocery.
But for Janet, the most meaningful moments in the business are not the sales made or the numbers or stores they have made it in. They happen when someone walks up to her and shares a story of drinking the soda.
“When somebody comes up to you and goes, ‘I love your orange cream.’ I mean, it’s made them happy and created a memory. Those are the best,” Janet said.
Janet says that after nearly twenty years on shelves, the soda has become nostalgic for many customers.
“We’ve discovered actually, we’ve been around long enough that people go, ‘I started drinking that when I was a kid,’” Janet said.
One place where those connections are easy to see is Corti Brothers grocery in East Sacramento. The historic market, which opened in 1947, has long been known for its specialty foods and its support for local products.
Bob Lake, right, stands with Brian Runge, a head clerk at Corti Brothers grocery store, next to bottles of River City Root Beer inside the East Sacramento market on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026.Tony Rodriguez/CapRadio
Inside, they keep a hefty stock of River City Root Beer bottles that sit in refrigerators near the deli. The Lakes have sold their root beer at Corti Brothers for years. They say it’s a relationship that has gone beyond a store that carries their soda.
Brian Runge, a head clerk at the store, said supporting companies like River City Root Beer is part of the store’s mission.
“We want to support local businesses,” Runge said. “It’s a great product, we sell a lot of it,” Runge said.
Runge said the Lakes have a real relationship with store staff.
“They always check in on us, which is very nice, especially because a lot of the other big corporations and brands don’t really care,” Runge said.
For Janet, that connection with Corti Bros became deeply personal during a difficult moment years ago.
Bob had undergone heart surgery, and Janet had stopped by the store to make a delivery.
When she arrived, store managers asked her to step into the office. Janet said they told her they knew about Bob’s surgery and wanted to support them while he recovered.
“We know what happened, and then we know what condition Bob’s in and we want to do everything to help you out during this period of time,” they told Janet.
Moments like that, she said, are part of what has kept them going in the business for so long.
Today, Bob is 80 years old. He still enjoys visiting stores and seeing customers pick up his root beer. Bob jokes that soda might have something to do with his young spirit.
“I’m 80 years old, all right, and so my secret to how I look at my age is one root beer a day,” he said.
While the soda industry is dominated by big corporations, the Lakes say they never built their business with the goal of beating the biggest brands. They say they want to create something that lasts.
Bob says the business has always been about something larger than soda. For him, the satisfaction comes from building something people will remember.
“It’s about taking a philosophy and seeing it grow and seeing it be successful and seeing it last,” he said. “That brings me a great deal of joy and pride.”
Janet says one of the things they are most proud of is that the soda recipe itself hasn’t changed since it first launched.
“It’s the same exact flavor that it was that we came out with in 2009,” she said. “2029 will be 20 years.”
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