The Devilishly Good Drink that Mixed Orange Juice and Milk

I’m keeping the reader poll up for one more week: so far my favorite answer to the question “Which public figure can you trust when they make recommendations, for products or restaurants or what have you?” is “You, I guess.” 😋 Go fill it out if you have a sec, but also read the story below by Grace Jidoun! —Katherine

by Grace Jidoun

Three decades of smoothie and juice cleanse madness pushed Orange Julius to the margins of the food world, and today, it has all but vanished. But for those who remember the wonders of the archetypal ‘70s drink (that was invented way earlier), Orange Julius represents more than just a frothy refresher. When you think of Orange Julius — if you think of it at all — visions of a simpler time pop into your head when a milk-and-orange juice concoction could take over Los Angeles and, eventually, the country.

Orange Julius' humble beginnings date back to 1926, when Julius Freed opened a tiny orange juice stand in Downtown LA. His friend Bill Hamlin, a real estate broker, loved orange juice but found it too acidic for his sensitive stomach, so he added crushed ice, syrup, and a “secret” powder (spoiler alert: it’s powered egg white!). When Hamlin bought out Julius Freed and started to expand, the franchise we knew and loved was born. By the late ‘60s, there were seven hundred locations nationwide, and fans guzzled with abandon (in addition to cups, it was sold by the quart and gallon).

Advertised as “devilishly good” and touted for its health benefits, people were drawn to the mythos just as much as the drink. Its “seven pure powders” certainly stoked some mystery, as did its marketing mascot: an orange devil. Its designation as the official drink of the 1964 World’s Fair cinched its status as the “drink of the future” until another space-age orange beverage usurped its place. Sure, NASA astronauts sipped Tang in outer space on the Gemini mission leading up to the moon landing, but Orange Julius came first. Some historians believe it even inspired Tang.

Orange Julius was dispensed from Googie-style buildings designed by Armet & David, known for L.A.’s most iconic diners, including Norm’s and Johnie’s Coffee Shop in Mid-Wilshire. And we can’t forget the allure of the quirky stands shaped like giant oranges, late examples of programmatic architecture.

Hamlin, the visionary who snuck powdered egg whites into our drinks, retired in 1967 and sold off his company, which continued to expand through the ‘70s and ‘80s. But as with so many good things, the drink became a victim of its own success. Dairy Queen bought the company in 1987, and by 2018, all the stand-alone shops had been absorbed into the fast-food giant. The quirky concept that overtook the country was essentially gone forever — but lives on in our hearts.

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More Food Media:

• McDonald’s is taking a page from Domino’s and saying “yup, our food is bad, but we’re working on it.” h/t Meika Grimm

• “And while people around the globe think they like spicy food, Mexico is the only country that really does, so chilli Doritos have to be made spicier there. Meanwhile, she says, “even the tiniest level of heat” is too much for Russia.” h/t Neal Ungerleider

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