Mountain Dew originated in Knoxville at 1921 East Magnolia Avenue, the former home of Hartman Beverage, owned and operated by Barney and Ally Hartman. In 1948, the brothers created and trademarked Mountain Dew as a clear lemon-lime flavored soft drink. The first franchise for Mountain Dew was issued in 1954 to Charlie Gordon’s Tri-City Beverage of Johnson City, Tennessee. In 1958, Tri-City plant manager Bill Bridgeforth developed a new citrus-lemonade flavor for Mountain Dew, which became the taste of Mountain Dew today. The Tip Corporation of Marion, Virginia, obtained the rights to this formula. William H. "Bill" Jones of the Tip Corporation further refined the formula, launching a new version of Mountain Dew in 1961. In 1964, the Pepsi-Cola Company acquired the production rights to the Mountain Dew brand from the Tip Corporation, expanded distribution across the nation, and it became the third biggest soft drink in the U.S.