A new soda parlor with an old-time feel

Chloe DirectorStaff WriterTucked away in a corner of the 1916 Landmark Carousel building, a vintage soda fountain harkens from the past like the carousel itself.  “Soda Jerks” is a new concession that opened on the Santa Monica Pier in July.  For the record, a soda jerk isn’t an obnoxious person who spits up Coke. The soda fountain gets its name from the 1930s slang used to describe the youths who worked behind the counter jerking silver levers to hand-pump syrup and soda water.On Saturday Oct. 9, the place was packed for a bar-mitzvah. Several of the soda jerks cranking out ice cream sodas and dishing out butterscotch sundaes were Samo students.“The old-fashioned feel is really cool because our generation has never gotten to experience authentic soda fountains and an ice cream bar,” employee and junior Jake Walther said.“Yeah, and the desserts are delicious,” fellow soda jerk, senior Hannah Falter added.Hannah and Jake both work at Soda Jerks after school and on weekends, when it’s the busiest. They take orders inside the carousel from people sitting at the counter on swivel stools, and also from people on the boardwalk who order through take-out windows.Owner Kevin McCafferty, like his Samo employees, started soda jerking in high school. “The best job to have at the soda fountain in those days was to be the head soda jerk,” he said. “It was the coolest. We were like bartenders.”When he was a sophomore in 1979, McCafferty worked at the popular Fosselman’s ice cream store in Pasadena.  Even then, he was no newcomer to soda jerking; in fact, McCafferty is a third-generation soda jerk. His father and grandfather were both “jerks.” His grandfather owned a pharmacy with a soda fountain in Indiana where his father learned the business as a boy. His father then opened his own pharmacy and soda fountain in Pasadena where Kevin grew up. The young McCafferty then opened his own place, the original Soda Jerks in Pasadena.  The Pasadena store closed in 2005 and McCafferty spent the next few years working on the carousel location.“The Santa Monica Pier is a great place to be. It’s fun. There’s a lot of activity,” McCafferty said. “You can park for a dollar, have your kid ride the carousel for a dollar, and get ice cream for 2 dollars. Your kids can have a great time for 4 bucks.”All of the soda jerks, including the Samo employees, dress in Prohibition-era outfits. During Prohibition, soda fountains were popular because people couldn’t drink alcohol. A lot of soda fountain drinks were based on alcoholic beverages.McCafferty still lives in Pasadena but he’s adapting to his new business location. It helps to have a good staff. “Samo students are a good group of employees,” McCafferty said.Soda Jerks sundaes are now made to be historically “Santa Monican.”  Will Roger’s Hot Fudge Brownie, for example, is McCafferty’s favorite and the most popular item on the menu. The brownie is his wife’s recipe.“There are a lot of characters on the pier. It’s the coolest place in L.A. to get ice cream,” he said. “We hope the locals come out and support us.”cdirector@thesamohi.com