[7] Later, Vernor also sold bottling franchises in other cities, requiring operators to adhere strictly to his recipe.

[5] In the late 1950s, when the City of Detroit proposed construction of Cobo Hall and other riverfront projects, a land-swap was negotiated, and Vernors moved its bottling plant and headquarters to the location of the old civic exhibition hall at 4501 Woodward Avenue, incorporating many of the popular features of the old plant.

[21] Los Angeles Metropolitan News-Enterprise Editor Roger Grace describes the original flavor as "mellow yet perky" with the mellowness attributed to the aging[clarification needed] in oak barrels, and the perkiness to the use of more ginger than "dry" ginger ales.

[13][22] A company-spread legend once held that prior to the start of the American Civil War James Vernor, then a clerk at the Higby & Sterns drugstore in Detroit, experimented with flavors in an attempt to duplicate a popular ginger ale imported from Dublin, Ireland.

When Vernor was called off to serve he stored the syrup base of 19 ingredients, including ginger, vanilla and other natural flavorings, in an oaken cask.

Initially Vernor sold franchises throughout Michigan and in major regional cities; the product was also available in Ontario, Canada.

Ohio and Illinois were the next-highest-selling states; the drink was also very popular in Florida, which has large numbers of retired or relocated former Michigan residents.

[9] In 2015, Dr Pepper Snapple said that it sold more than 7 million cases of Vernors, about 1% of the company's total sales volume.

[32] While the Dr. Pepper company insists the name of the gnome has always been Woody, Lawrence L. Rouch, Vernors historian, argues this was not the case.

[32] His arrival at work one morning was followed by widespread agreement amongst both Vernors representatives and Doner ad executives that he should be cast as the gnome.

During his time as the Vernors mascot, Bialecki made personal appearances in the "gnome mobile" which he also designed for the enjoyment of the local public.

[37] A Boston Cooler, also known as a Vernors float, is an ice cream soda variant typically composed of Vernors Ginger Ale and vanilla ice cream blended together similar to a milkshake; however, in other parts of the United States, different combinations of ingredients are also known as a Boston Cooler.

Some native Detroiters simply put a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream in a glass, add Vernors and a soda straw, and call it a Boston Cooler.