They were extinct as far back as I can remember.  About the latest I've heard of the famous "drugstore soda fountain" is 1966.  Does anybody know why the soda shop/cafateria and the drugstore parted ways?  I have some ideas, but I've never heard a definite explanation. 

http://www.themeekerhotel.com/images/drugstore_sodafountain.jpg

My guess is the rise of fastfood eateries made running a soda fountain/luncheon less and less profitable until they petered out in the late '60s.  I do know the drugstore soda fountain has made a minor comeback as a retro gimmick.

I used to get vanilla cokes made to order at the drugstore down the street. that was in the 50's to early 60's. then they took the soda fountain out. bummer.
musta been hard to compete against the hamburger joints opening up all over. 19 cent bugers and all.

there is a fountain down the street from my office. you can get cherry coke and lime rickey and ice cream sodas ...the penny candy is 5 cents..
]but it's really good. great burgers.

there is a fountain down the street from my office. you can get cherry coke and lime rickey and ice cream sodas ...the penny candy is 5 cents..
]but it's really good. great burgers.



that sounds simply marvelous!! :)

They were extinct as far back as I can remember.  About the latest I've heard of the famous "drugstore soda fountain" is 1966.  Does anybody know why the soda shop/cafateria and the drugstore parted ways?  I have some ideas, but I've never heard a definite explanation. 

http://www.themeekerhotel.com/images/drugstore_sodafountain.jpg

My guess is the rise of fastfood eateries made running a soda fountain/luncheon less and less profitable until they petered out in the late '60s.  I do know the drugstore soda fountain has made a minor comeback as a retro gimmick.


I also remember these.  In particular, I remember both a Newberry's and a Woolworth's that had them in North Hollywood as late as the early 1970's.

If I had to guess, it would probably be a combination of several things.

To begin with, the old "strip malls" gave way to large enclosed mega-malls, each with a food court with several places to choose from.

Also you had a lot more competition from the various fast food franchises.

Then lastly, you had less "stay at home mom's", which meant less daytime shoppers.

For the most part, most of the chains that were famous for having "Soda Fountains" have largely gone extinct by the late 1990's.

We still have on here in Lancaster PA.  It's called Smithgall's Pharmacy.  They make their ratio of syrup to soda water just perfect.  Apparently they like giving their customers caffeine buzzes. :)

They were extinct as far back as I can remember.  About the latest I've heard of the famous "drugstore soda fountain" is 1966.  Does anybody know why the soda shop/cafateria and the drugstore parted ways?  I have some ideas, but I've never heard a definite explanation. 

http://www.themeekerhotel.com/images/drugstore_sodafountain.jpg

My guess is the rise of fastfood eateries made running a soda fountain/luncheon less and less profitable until they petered out in the late '60s.  I do know the drugstore soda fountain has made a minor comeback as a retro gimmick.



I was watching the show "America Eats" on the History Channel not to long ago. Every corner drugstore had a soda fountain because that was the only way people could get carbonated drinks. Then they learned how to bottle it (without the carbonation exploding) and people could just buy bottles of soda just about anyplace and they didn't have to go to the corner drugstore to get their "fix".




Cat

There's a place here called The Alpha Soda that still has an old-fashioned soda fountain.

There's a soda fountain in North St. Louis.

It's in one of the WORST! neighborhoods around, which is funny 'cus there are always dozens of cars out front.  ;D

i wonder if thsoe crap restaurants you sometimes see in kmarts and the like are latter-day permutations of the drug store soda fountain.

in saint john we went to a thai restaurant-slash-general store-slash-video rental joint. that was pretty cool.

My mom worked at the soda counter at the pharmacy in our hometown back in high school (graduated in '66) and about a year or two after.  That's where she met my dad who worked at the hardware store on the same block.  They didn't know each other in high school as they were in different grades.  The counter was gone as long as I can remember.  I think I would have liked eating there.

This was it in 1969, but that's not my mom behind the counter.

Yep, Woolworths had the counters until fairly recent history, and even though they were great, not a drug store.

I can remember as a teen in the early 70's going to the 'Grand Drugs' in NJ with all my friends for lunch. It was kind of a big deal for us cause we felt kind of grown up.

Of course back then our parents didn't need to worry about the local kidnapper or anything, we would just go out and make our day.

But if you think about now, how odd to have a full lunch counter and grill in a drug store?

When I was a kid in the late 60's there was a Bloughs drug store near to where I lived in Ft.Wayne,In.  Mr. Blough had owned it since the early 1940's & it had the old soda fountain in it. I enjoyed stopping in there thru the years and have an old fashion phosphate or one of his homemade root beers. Unfortunately, he retired in the late 1980's & the new owner turned it into an electronics parts store.

They were extinct as far back as I can remember.  About the latest I've heard of the famous "drugstore soda fountain" is 1966.  Does anybody know why the soda shop/cafateria and the drugstore parted ways?  I have some ideas, but I've never heard a definite explanation.  


If you're ever in SoCal, drop by Watson's and ask.

Watson's is probably the last one left in America, and by extension, on the planet.

Miller Pharmacy in Coshocton, Ohio still has a soda fountain. I've never had the time to stop in, but it's mentioned in the local advertisements for the pharmacy.

It was common for department stores to have cafeterias/soda fountains and sometimes even restaurants up until the 80s(?). I wish they would come back, seemed like it was a neat idea.

It was common for department stores to have cafeterias/soda fountains and sometimes even restaurants up until the 80s(?). I wish they would come back, seemed like it was a neat idea.


I do remember the Woolworth's lunch counter.  Convenient if you were not getting enough botulism in your diet!
8-P