It’s the newest battle in one of the world’s longest-running wars: the cola war. That legendarily polarizing rivalry between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.
In this latest installment, Alabama man Will Cholewinski is alleging Coke isn’t just the bad guy; he’s saying the soda giant is disrespectful and greedy. It’s all the more dramatic because Cholewinski says he’s got a solution. But it’s utterly unacceptable to the C-suite executives at Coke.
Respectfully Disagree
In a TikTok that’s been viewed over 41,500 times, Cholewinski (@thechubbfather) says he refuses to serve Coca-Cola in his restaurant. As owner of Chubbfathers, in Alabaster, Alabama, he says there’s room enough for both soda brands. But he only serves one. “One of the questions we get asked is why, so far down south, are you serving Pepsi and not Coca-Cola?” he says.
Cholewinski explains via a hyperlocal history lesson. “When we first opened all those years ago [16], I purchased an extra-large fountain. It said ‘Coca-Cola’ across the top, but it was large enough for both Coke and Pepsi on the same fountain. He argues that, at his restaurant, it is about the customer, not the corporation.
Then, after Chubbfathers had been open seven years, some of the vice presidents from Atlanta touring the Coca-Cola bottling company in Birmingham visited him for lunch. He says they were “very, very, very unhappy that he had Coke and Pepsi on the same fountain.”
Cholewinski says both brands were being sold about equally. But during that visit, he alleges that the Coke executives berated and belittled him. So while they watched, he removed the Coca-Cola sign from his fountain. Then he unhooked the bags of the soda from the machine and told the Coke employees to take the bags with them. “I won’t be serving Coca-Cola in my establishment any longer,” he says. In an email, Cholewinski tells BroBible they did not take the bags with them.
Do Millionaires Ruin Everything For Everyone?
The choice to remove Coke from his store wasn’t one he made willingly, he adds. But it was one he says he felt compelled to make. Because it wasn’t simply about market share. It was a situation where “the people who make millions, and millions, and millions of dollars, and the vice presidents who belong to country clubs and fly all over the place and play golf, didn’t want you to have a choice,” he explains.
His position is that it’s not about a competition—that’s something he doesn’t sweat. He sees it as a community thing because both the companies and his guests benefitted. He thinks it was an issue of ego and pride, so he says he refuses to be bullied.
But there’s more to it. Cholewinski’s dad was a Pepsi drinker. Because his dad “passed before we opened 16 years ago. But always asked if I opened a place of my own if I would put Pepsi and Dr. Pepper on the fountain cause he […] wanted his beloved Pepsi. I decided to make good on that promise,” he tells BroBible.
Even the Die-Hard Coke Drinkers Agree
Though some in the comments are in a hurry to rally for their preferred brand, others took a look at the bigger picture. Some are even getting a little philosophical.
“Isn’t it sort of a metaphor for how things are shaking out in this entire country! Greed! The powers to be do not want you to have a choice. They are afraid of competition. Good for you for taking a stand,” said @bill14551.
TikToker @123jetter agrees, writing, “I prefer Coke over Pepsi, however, I 100% support what you did.”
Then there’s the person purporting to have worked for both companies. “After working for both companies, Coca Cola is very worried about what Pepsi is doing more than anything. Pepsi doesn’t care,” says @tydrewhoney.
While @brodyclayton, who says he works for Coke, writes, “They handled that very poorly. As a Coke employee, we always strive and want restaurants to be exclusive to our products but with it being your machine that’s different.”
According to Cholewinski, he’d be open to a conversation. However, he said no one from Coke has ever reached back out to his establishment.
Taste Of A New Generation?
Who won the cola wars? Coke. Investopedia says that, according to a 2021 worldwide study, “About two-thirds of consumers thought that Coca-Cola was better than Pepsi.”
But there are clues in the way each company is structured that may help explain why the Coke executives behaved the way they did. Pepsi is a company that has diversified. Though their market share of soda is smaller than Coke’s, their total revenue is higher. About half of Pepsi’s revenue comes from snacks. “In 2025, PepsiCo’s revenue was $93.93 billion, significantly higher than Coca-Cola’s $47.94 billion,” reports that same source.
Coca-Cola doesn’t diversify. As a company, it focuses on beverages and beverages only. With over 200 drinks in their portfolio, they are “concentrated on building an empire of drinks,” writes Investopedia.
So perhaps Cholewinski’s intuited idea that the Coke executives weren’t able to handle competition was close to correct. Right or not, he ends his video with a taunt. “It’s actually no surprise to me that all those years ago, you lost the blind taste test, and Pepsi became the taste of a new generation,” he says.
BroBible reached out to Coca-Cola via their media email. We will update this if either responds.
@thechubbfather @Coke @Pepsi