Written by Mark Hostutler - Editor, American Community Journals

For nearly three decades, Bucks County-based Hank’s Gourmet Beverages has been bottling nostalgia, tradition, and a rich, creamy flavor that most root beer lovers will say is unmatched. However, for company president John Salvatore and his brother, managing partner Tony Salvatore, the Hank’s story begins well before the first bottle rolled off the line in 1995. And now, it’s entering a new chapter with a business banking relationship they say offers the stability and personal connection that they value.

The Salvatores’ careers began in the beer business. They were partners in L&M Beverage Co., a beer distributorship founded in 1958 by their father, Hank, that was best known for handling Yuengling. The family eventually sold the distributorship in 2001, when it had grown to 80 employees and $40 million in annual sales. Years prior to the sale, in the early 1990s, Hank’s Gourmet Beverages was born as a side venture.

“We decided we wanted root beer as our first brand, so we acquired a 100-year-old root beer recipe,” said John Salvatore. “Philadelphia is the birthplace of root beer, but most national brands used high fructose corn syrup and didn’t have the richness we thought root beer should have.”

The Salvatores tweaked the recipe to develop its signature formula — one that leans heavier on vanilla for extra creaminess and is made with pure cane sugar.

“It’s a treat,” said John. “We have customers who’ve been drinking it for 30 years, and now their kids drink it. It’s become generational.”

From the start, Hank’s stood out not only for flavor but for presentation. The packaging — a brown glass bottle with “Hank’s” embossed on the neck — mirrors the feel of a premium beer, a nod to the family’s roots in that industry.

“We wanted to match the packaging with the flavor,” John said. “It’s upscale, it’s high-quality, and people enjoy holding it as much as drinking it.”

Today, Hank’s, which is based in Southampton, PA, boasts eight different flavors and is sold in 40 states. About 40 percent of its business is concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic.

Earlier this year, Hank’s deepened its relationship with Firstrust Bank after years of what Salvatore calls “banking instability.”

“In about eight years, we went through four banks, mostly because of mergers,” he said. “Every time, you have to start over with new people and new processes. I was ready for that to stop.”

A longtime contact from a previous bank had joined Firstrust, and Salvatore reached out. What appealed to him most was Firstrust’s local roots, its community involvement, and its longevity.

“We had previously done some financing deals with Firstrust, but we recently decided to move all of our banking over to Firstrust,” he said. “The bank has been around for more than 90 years. That kind of continuity is rare, and it matters to me.”

Salvatore said that while loan rates are largely the same from bank to bank, the difference is in the relationship.

“I now know my lender, I know the local branch, and I know senior people I’ve dealt with for years,” he said. “Firstrust has people who’ve been there 25, 30, 35 years — that says a lot about the company.”

In the first four months of working together, Salvatore said Firstrust has provided an “excellent, relationship-based” experience that he hopes will grow into expanded lending and support as the company scales.

“We’re looking for a bank we can stay with as we grow, and Firstrust feels like the right fit,” he said.

For now, the focus is on doing what Hank’s has always done best: making craft sodas that stand out in both taste and presentation, building relationships with customers and distributors, and — with the help of Firstrust — ensuring that the business has a strong, steady partner for the future.

“In the end, it’s about more than just banking,” Salvatore said. “It’s about having a partner who understands your business, your community, and your goals. Firstrust gives us that, and that’s what will help us keep growing.”

Learn more about how Firstrust Bank supports local businesses like Hank’s Gourmet Beverages, helping them to grow and thrive.