7 Discontinued Foods and Drinks Texans Grew Up on and Want Back
Blue Bell’s Groom’s Cake came back to stores in May 2025, after fans voted for it. It had been gone since 2018.
But not every favorite you loved gets a second chance like that.
These are the discontinued foods and drinks that many Texans grew up on and want back.
1. Dublin Dr Pepper
Dublin Dr Pepper was discontinued after Dr Pepper Snapple Group sued the Dublin, Texas, company in 2011.
The suit claimed the Dublin company was diluting the Dr Pepper brand by printing the town’s name prominently on its bottles.
In 2012, the Dublin company settled and agreed not to make any more Dr Pepper or anything like it.
The soda was gone.
Dublin had been synonymous with the Waco-born soda for over a century, the Dallas Morning News wrote.
After the settlement, the company kept making craft sodas, including a black cherry soda later renamed Dublin Original.
By 2017, its owner had pulled Dublin Original, saying the company couldn’t afford another big lawsuit.
He said the few bottles already in distribution wouldn’t be recalled, but any remaining Dublin Original in the warehouse would be destroyed.
If you saved a bottle of Dublin Dr Pepper, you’re holding a soda the company can’t make again.
2. Southwest Airlines Peanuts
Southwest Airlines discontinued serving peanuts on all flights beginning August 1, 2018.
The Dallas-based airline said the change was for customers with peanut or peanut-dust allergies.
It served 106 million peanuts in 2017.
You may remember them.
Pretzels would replace peanuts on all flights, Southwest said.
NPR noted in 2018 that Southwest once called its prices “peanut fares” and ran a corporate blog called “Nuts About Southwest.”
3. Tab Diet Soda
Coca-Cola said in October 2020 that it was discontinuing Tab, its first diet soda, after nearly 60 years.
Odwalla juices and Zico coconut water were among the discontinued brands as Coca-Cola sought to streamline production and focus on bestsellers.
Tab peaked in 1980.
It had 5.6% of the U.S. soda market, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Sales declined after Diet Coke arrived in 1982.
If you still miss Tab, you have company in SaveTaBSoda, a fan group that had gathered more than 8,000 petition signatures by December 2025.
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4. Fruit Stripe Gum
Ferrara announced in January 2024 that it was discontinuing Fruit Stripe gum, which had been sold since the 1960s.
CNN reported that fans might still find packs at select retailers nationwide while supplies lasted.
The gum was known for fruit-inspired flavors and zebra-print packaging.
You probably remember the stripes.
Ferrara, which also makes Nerds and Fun Dip, called ending it a difficult decision.
It cited purchasing patterns and changing consumer preferences among many factors.
5. Knott's Berry Farm Jam
Knott's Berry Farm jam was discontinued in January 2024, CNN reported.
It lasted nearly a century.
If you're wondering why, Smucker, the brand's parent company, said the change fit its strategy to continuously evaluate its portfolio.
The company was focusing on Hostess products.
6. Sierra Mist
PepsiCo launched Sierra Mist in 1999 and discontinued the lemon-lime soda in January 2023.
Starry took its place.
The newer drink was meant to compete with rival Sprite.
Sierra Mist's Soda Market Share Before It Was Discontinued
In January 2023, Beverage Digest sales data given to CNN showed Sierra Mist's share of the soda market barely exceeded a tenth of 1%.
That share had been on the decline for at least five years by then.
Over the same stretch, Sprite, the soda you were far more likely to pick, grew its share to nearly 8%.
7. Oreo O's Cereal
Post Consumer Brands discontinued Oreo O's in December 2024, replacing them with Oreo Puffs.
Oreo O's first hit shelves in 1997 and stayed for ten years before they were discontinued the first time.
They came back in 2017.
You could buy a box from then until December 2024.
Blue Bell's Groom's Cake Comeback
Blue Bell's discontinued Groom's Cake returned to stores on May 1, 2025.
It last sold in 2018.
Blue Bell had put 16 discontinued flavors up for a fan vote in its Great Scoop Revival Tournament, which began June 25, 2024.
Groom's Cake beat Red Velvet Cake in the first round, then won the final vote against Cookie Cake.
One couple even created an online petition to bring it back.
Blue Bell planned to release the runner-up, Cookie Cake, later in May.
If you voted for Groom's Cake, you helped bring it back.
Whataburger Menu Throwbacks
Whataburger planned to discontinue its A.1. Thick & Hearty Burger forever on December 21, 2009.
That didn't last.
The chain later announced the burger was back on its menu for a limited time.
Whataburger brought back the Monterey Melt on January 7, 2025, for a limited time, after it had last been on the menu in 2022.
If you missed it the first time around, that limited run was your second chance.
The return kicked off the chain's 75th birthday celebration.
Whataburger planned to reach into its "WhataVault" for more discontinued items before its August 8 birthday.
Ecto Cooler's Brief Returns
Hi-C Ecto Cooler came back in May 2016 for the release of the 2016 film Ghostbusters.
It was set to go away again at the end of that year, a little more than half a year after its return.
If you missed it, you probably hoped it would come back again.
It did, sort of.
In November 2021, Hi-C re-released it to tie in with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, but the drink wasn't sold in stores.
Hi-C planned to give a bottle to select fans who followed @drinkhic and @ghostbusters on social media.
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