AN OFFER THEY COULD NOT REFUSE

During the early 1980's, the Pepsi Cola Company,NEW YORK, took a new direction by making generous offers in an attempt to purchase some of the most succesful Pepsi franchises.Up until then Corporate Pepsi only operated plants themselves in about a dozen franchises while the other 500 Pepsi plants were owned by individual families like the Occhiato's and Carducci's.Having seen the profit that they could generate by operating the plants themselves,Corporate Pepsi went out in 1981 and made offers and bought out the franchises in San Francisco,Denver and many other family owned companies.
In 1982 The Pepsi Cola Company approached the Occhiato's and Carducci's and made a very generous offer for their Franchises in Pueblo,which covered all of southern Colorado,in Sante Fe,which covered all of northeastern New Mexico,and in Amarillo which covered 23 counties in the Texas Panhandle.On April 20th,1982, the deal was closed.This ended 4 generations of being family operated going back to Grandpa Mike when he bottled his first soda in the early 1900's.
Although Chuck had sold the Pepsi business, he and Tim still had PEPCO FOOD SERVICE .It seems that all the work that the family had put into their business had finally paid off and now Chuck and Rosemary could enjoy the fruits of their labor.With Tim managing Pepco it left Chuck and Rose time to travel and visit their other children and grandchildren.1983 thru 1986 were joyful years for Chuck and Rosemary as they visited Donna in Virginia and David in St. Louis and even went on an Alaskan cruise.In 1987 just as they were starting to enjoy life tragedy stuck.