On January 8, 1916, Chester Butler and Ignacio Bordallo were married, forming one of the most successful economic families in the pre-World War II Guam period. Chester Butler was a former US Navy man from Texas, and Ignacio was the child of Baltazar Bordallo, a Spaniard who had settled in Guam in the late 1800s, and Rita Pangelinan, a member of the large “Kotla” clan on Guam.

The Butlers later opened a retail store, Butler’s Emporium in Hagåtña. Chester had purchased a soda-making machine and began to make carbonated drinks locally, including ginger ale, root beer and fruit-flavored seltzers. In 1923, Butlers became the first company outside the continental United States to operate a Coca-Cola franchise. In addition to their well-known retail store, the couple also owned one of only two theaters on the island prior to World War II, The Gaiety Theater.