The Vendo 56 is one of the most sought after models of classic vintage Coca-Cola vending machines due to it’s timeless design and compact size. It is over 50 years old, in fantastic condition and the really great thing about it is that it can vend almost any bottle size. So if you are using it to keep your soft drinks cool or as a flashy beer fridge, you can be sure it will attract attention wherever it is placed.
A Little Coca-Cola History
Coca-Cola’s founder John Pemberton first concocted his version of wine-cola in 1886. He continued to refine the recipe over the next few years, selling it to locals and advertising it as having medicinal qualities.
Drinks vending machines began popping up in the 1930s and, despite World War II, they became a common sight in American gas stations and shopping areas by the ‘40s. During the war manufacturers like Vendo had to stop production and help to manufacture products for the war effort. But for Vendo, this wasn’t too much of a problem as the US army ordered thousands of drinks dispensers for troops to boost soldier morale!
After the war ended, there was a boom in drinks vending machines and the old models kept being re-vamped in appearance, producing the range of classic machines that we love and remember today. They also kept improving the dodgy 1930‘s internal mechanisms, enabling them to hold more drinks per machine and to jam less often.
Throughout these years, Coca-Cola rose in popularity to eventually become one of the most famous drinks manufacturers in the world. They worked with a few different companies to produce their iconic vending machines, among which, the Vendo models are some of the most popular and sought after today.
These classic Coca-Cola machines have become a prominent item in pop culture and are recognised with nostalgic affection around the world. The classic models were most widely used in America at the time, as a lot of the rest of the world had been so affected by the war that they couldn't have this kind of luxury. So, in the present day, these classic machines have proved to be difficult to source outside of the USA. There are a rare few highly sought after machines, such as our Vendo 56 drinks dispenser (that started out in the USA almost 60 years ago!), that have actually made it across the Atlantic to Europe and the UK.
Our Vendo 56
These cool classic Coca-Cola machines have always been really popular, but since the recent rise in interest in buying vintage products, these symbols of 1940’s and 50’s American pop culture have become a must have item in your own home or in a commercial setting. The Vendo 56 is one of the most celebrated models due to it’s sleek design complete with rounded corners, a glamorous embossed logo and the bold signature red and white colour scheme.
You can see it in action in our news video below:
We are lucky enough to have one of these iconic drinks dispensers in our showrooms in prime condition. Our current model was manufactured in 1957 and has been beautifully restored in the USA by experts in the field. It is in full working order and is converted to a British power supply.
This rare specimen is sure to add class to any setting, it is small in size (just over 4ft), making it a popular model for home use as well as commercial. It can easily be tucked into a lounge, games room or kitchen at home as your very own drinks refrigerator. It won’t take up valuable space in a commercial environment, but is sure to be an attractive feature.
The really great thing about this model is that it can vend almost any size bottle, not just the standard coke bottle size, so you can use this machine as a cool looking vendor for any soft drink or even bottled beer!
It holds 56 bottles in all, allowing you seven selections of bottle of varying sizes and pre-cooling 14 at any time.
See it in Our Showroom
Why not pop down to our Bristol showrooms? We have all our vintage stock on display, including our vintage coke machine which is stocked full of Coca-Cola bottles waiting for you to discover just how satisfying drinking an ice cold bottle straight from your own vintage vending machine is.
As with all of our vintage stock it is limited and notorious for disappearing fast! So if you’re interested, give us a call or drop us an e-mail and our friendly staff will tell you all you need to know about it.
Written By: Abi Ponton