This Hidden Gem Along California's Highway 395 Still Serves Phosphate Sodas

If you're a road-tripper whose heart jumps at "historic district" signs, or you simply can't resist a dusty Main Street with charming structures — then Highway 395 in California is calling your name. Weaving through mountains, plains, boulders, gullies, and deserts along the Sierra Nevada range, this highway spans endless vistas, surprising twists and turns, and small, quaint towns.One of the quirkiest detours is a throwback stop at Randsburg General Store, where an old-school soda fountain from 1904 still serves genuine phosphate sodas. 

Referred to simply as "phosphates," these old-fashioned drinks are made by combining flavored syrup and soda water with a small dose of acid phosphate, which creates a bright, tangy zip on the tongue. The mouth-puckering sensation is somewhat similar to lemons or limes, but lacking the citrus taste. They were especially popular from the early to mid-1900s when soda fountains were all the rage, pumping out fizzy treats from gleaming counters, often inside pharmacies. 

Fast forward to today and you can still order a phosphate soda in a place that's served them since Randsburg's gold-boom days. What's now named the Randsburg General Store came to life in 1896 as a drug store, which was consumed by fire multiple times and rebuilt in 1904, the same year the showpiece soda fountain arrived from Boston. Though the pharmacy transitioned into a general store in 1949, the fountain tradition survived. 

The so-called "ghost town" of Randsburg — home to about 100 people — is both culturally and geographically far from the stereotypical California vibes of beaches, Hollywood, wineries, and high-tech corridors. It's tucked between Death Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and most folks discover the tow when journeying the 395 corridor on road trips.

Randsburg General Store calls itself "home of the world famous 100-year-old soda fountain" — who could resist pulling off the highway for that? If you do find your way there, expect vintage-style nostalgia at every turn, from the genuine soda fountain and red vinyl stools to the drink menu, which includes not only phosphates but traditional sodas, as well as malts, milkshakes, and freezes, including the specialty Aunt Ernies's Freeze. 

The phosphates — including the Muddy River chocolate soda phosphate and a lime soda phosphate called the Green River, tagged as an "1897 Miner's Favorite" — undeniably steal the show. With all the fizzy guzzling, travelers do have a way to temper the rush: A full food menu offering hearty breakfast dishes, including country biscuits with gravy, and a lunch menu with the likes of homemade chili and cornbread, plus a western BBQ beef sandwich and side of miner's slaw. To dig deeper into bygone food-and drink culture, check out our articles on old-school soda fountains and sour soda shop ingredients, including phosphates.