The Waldorf Astoria’s Art Deco lobby is seasonally attired in lighted wreaths, but the ballroom pumps disco and upbeat ’80s pop while a huge screen flashes ancient brand names. Shearson, Braniff, Handi-Wrap, and Meister Brau share the Jeopardy!-like grid with hardly-knowns like Lucky Whip, Kool Shake, and Nudit.
Groggy after a night of drinking with a couple of old lacrosse buddies from college, Tim Miller takes his place in the crowd of about 50, his friend Dickie Grieves beside him for moral support. It’s Dec. 8, 2010, and the Eastern Shore realtor—he’s never been to New York’s Waldorf before—is nervous. Read more.
The Wall Street Journal:
Get ready for the return of Astro Pops, Boast logo shirts, National Premium beer and the Seafood Shanty restaurant chain—all names that had avid followings in their time.
The difficult economy is prompting many entrepreneurs to try to revive old brands from the dead—or the near-dead. Read more.
The resurrected brew goes for a second run with a new ad campaign.
BEER: National Premium, a 139-year-old Baltimore beer that died in 1996
NEW OWNER: Tim Miller, local real-estate agent
$200,000 Miller’s estimated relaunch cost
That includes $100,000 for marketing, and $75,000 for the beer’s first run. Rather than brew it himself, he’ll save money by hiring a brewer y to work off National’s old recipe. He expects immediate interest. “It has big-time name recognition,” he says. Read more.
