A-Treat, manufacturer of sarsaparilla, white birch, Big Blue (blue raspberry) and cream sodas, has closed down.

The company had a Technicolor of bottles on store shelves. In all, the firm manufactured 16 flavors.On Friday, the firm, headquartered in Allentown, shut its doors unexpectedly.Local retailers said the closing came without warning.Employees were notified at work on Friday about the immediate closing. Store owners said this morning they still haven't been notified.But word has gotten around and fans of A-Treat bolted to stores over the weekend to stock up on their favorite brands.A representative for Jim Thorpe Markets said, "Our shelves are bare," adding that people purchased all the 2-liter bottles and cases of soda that they had.All they have left are 20-ounce, individual bottles in their cooler.A representative at Country Harvest Market in Palmerton reported this morning, "We have no products left on the shelf."A-Treat, close to celebrating its 100th anniversary, was founded in 1918 as a small firm in the 600 block of Front Street in Allentown.The firm moved to its present location on Union Boulevard in Allentown in 1932, remaining a family-owned business, according to its website.Frank Kuhn, president of Mallard Markets said, "As a small-business owner it's sad to see another small business close after so many years."The representative for Jim Thorpe Markets agreed, saying, "There aren't too many bottling companies remaining."At one time, Moxie, a soda brand popular in New England and some southern states, had a bottling company in Lehighton.Up until the 1970s, Coca Cola had a bottling company in downtown Palmerton.Many people are going to miss A-Treat, which usually sold for less than the major brands and was a big hit at parties.Especially popular was the tonic, used as a drink mixer.Both Kristie Turner and Sandy Christman posted on Facebook this morning that they will miss the white birch flavor.A-Treat had two known major kinks in distributing in recent years.Walmart discontinued carrying the brand.Also, there was a social media campaign that tied the brand to the Ku Klux Klan. An investigation by the FBI proved that the campaign was made-up and had no truth to it.Now there's a social media campaign started to bring A-Treat back.A site on Facebook called "Lets keep A-Treat sodas flowin" already has 9,581 "likes."Bob Ford contributed to this article.