Unearth The Voyage
Most pharmacies are places you visit, pick up what you need, and leave. These 13 are different.
Across the country, a handful of working drugstores still pair prescriptions with soda fountains, lunch counters, vintage candy, ice cream, and interiors that look like they belong to another era.
Some have been serving their towns for more than a century. Others revived the old-fashioned pharmacy model with restored fountains, handmade sodas, and neighborhood service.
All 13 are still open, still filling prescriptions, and worth visiting even if you do not need anything from the pharmacy counter.
1. Hieber’s Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh’s oldest pharmacy has a history stretching back to around 1860, when it operated as Hieber Brothers in the city’s Strip District. After decades in Oakland, the business returned to its roots in April 2024 with a new location inside the Strip District Terminal Building.
The new space features a classic soda fountain that serves house-curated sodas, handcrafted milkshakes, and ice cream floats. The approach leans artisanal, with house-made syrups and a menu that nods to the old pharmacist tradition of mixing remedies with soda water.
Hieber’s was named Pittsburgh Magazine’s 2026 Best of the ‘Burgh winner for Best Independent Pharmacy, which says something about how the community feels about it. The pharmacy is also a leading compounding facility, creating custom medications for both human and animal patients in a wide range of formats.
Practical perks include a pick-up window for pre-paid orders, free 30-minute parking, and on-site immunizations. Local goods fill the shelves, making browsing part of any visit.
2. Fair Oaks Pharmacy, South Pasadena, California
Few pharmacies in the country can claim to sit along historic U.S. Route 66, but Fair Oaks Pharmacy has occupied that spot since 1915, making it one of California’s most photographed drugstores.
The interior is packed with vintage design details: a marble counter, retro metal signs, Coca-Cola memorabilia, and display cases holding old menus and staff uniforms. It functions as much like a small museum as a working pharmacy, and visitors often spend time just looking around before ordering anything.
The soda fountain menu is the real showstopper. Alongside milkshakes, malts, phosphates, egg creams, and ice cream sodas, Fair Oaks offers the legendary “Kitchen Sink” sundae, which features eight scoops of ice cream, eight toppings, a brownie, a banana, and a mountain of whipped cream.
The whole thing weighs 12 pounds.
The pharmacy also operates as a compounding facility, and the retail section carries nostalgic toys, retro candy like Necco Wafers and wax bottles, and a range of memorabilia that makes the gift section almost as entertaining as the fountain counter.
3. Thomas Drugs, Cross Plains, Tennessee
The building that houses Thomas Drugs has been standing since 1915, first as a general store and then, from 1930 onward, as a pharmacy. The soda fountain started serving food in January 1991, and the place has been a destination ever since.
Black-and-white checkered floors, red stools, and old wooden booths give the interior a look that visitors consistently describe as a time capsule. The National Register of Historic Places agreed, adding the building to its list in 1993.
The fountain menu covers all the classics: milkshakes in flavors like Banana, Peach, Peanut Butter, and Coffee; malts; floats; sundaes; banana splits; and egg creams made with chocolate syrup, milk, and carbonated water. Each soda is handmade, with syrups and carbonated water mixed to order using Purity ice cream.
The weekday lunch counter runs from 8 AM to 2 PM and features sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, and a BLT served with chips and a pickle. Jeremy and Sarah Felker took over ownership in 2022, continuing a legacy that spans nearly a century.
4. Bulloch’s Drug Store, Cedar City, Utah
Cedar City’s most versatile stop might just be a drugstore. Bulloch’s Drug Store combines a working pharmacy, a boutique called Wood ‘N Lace, a home decor section, a candy store, a gift shop, and a restored soda fountain under one roof.
The soda fountain is the centerpiece, and it earned that title. Owners Evan and Chris Vickers tracked down an original 1942 Bastian Blessing unit from Chicago and had it restored, making Bulloch’s the only soda fountain in Cedar City.
It serves Farrs Ice Cream in 15 to 18 flavors, alongside Lime Rickeys, Pink Ladies, Ironport sodas, milkshakes, freezes, and ice cream sodas.
The candy section features an entire wall of bulk candy, from gummy and sour varieties to chocolates and hard candy, plus nostalgic toys like JellyCat plushies. The store’s history runs deep: parts of the building date to 1881, and displays include original 1930s prescriptions and vintage soda fountain equipment.
As a pharmacy, Bulloch’s offers compounding, free prescription delivery, and traditional services, making it a genuinely useful stop as well as an entertaining one.
5. Kanab United Drug, Kanab, Utah
Surrounded by southern Utah’s red-rock scenery, Kanab United Drug has been serving the community since 1916, making it one of the region’s longest-running independent pharmacies.
Current owner Dave Shakespeare expanded the business to include a full-service pharmacy, a larger gift store, and a reinstated soda fountain. The sundae menu leans creative, with an “Ultimate Series” of specialty creations that layer ice cream, drizzles, toppings, and decorative extras into something that looks almost too elaborate to eat.
Dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan options are also available.
Beyond desserts, the soda fountain area connects to a built-in restaurant serving sandwiches, paninis, soup, salad, and authentic Italian pizza. Specific menu items include a Cali Wrap with turkey, bacon, and avocado, and a Cranberry Pecan Bliss salad.
The gift shop carries Hallmark cards, home decor, toys including Melissa and Doug products, souvenirs, apparel, and a rotating selection of hard-to-find candy brands. Pharmacy services include immunizations, a drive-thru, delivery, medication synchronization, and pill packaging, making it a complete community hub.
6. Guerin’s Pharmacy, Summerville, South Carolina
South Carolina’s oldest drugstore has been open since 1871, which means it was already a local institution before most grandparents’ grandparents were born.
Guerin’s Pharmacy sits in downtown Summerville in a building with a brick facade that likely dates to around 1920, and the interior looks like it has barely changed since. Wooden glass cabinets line the walls, colored medicine bottles fill the window ledges, and a tin-art ceiling adds to the time-capsule effect.
The 1920s-style soda fountain is the main draw for visitors, serving ice cream, milkshakes, floats, fountain sodas, hot dogs, lemonades, and cherry smashes. The candy counter stocks old-fashioned favorites like Charleston Chews, candy necklaces, Mary Jane caramels, and Squirrel Nut Zippers, with prices starting at six cents.
Beyond the nostalgia, Guerin’s operates as a full-service pharmacy with prescription refills, limited compounding, and a stock of hard-to-find medications. The antique red benches out front are a fine spot to enjoy a treat.
7. Tinsley-Bible Drug Co., Dandridge, Tennessee
Founded in 1911 by Dr. P. A.
Tinsley and his pharmacist nephew Walter Tinsley, this Dandridge institution has outlasted trends, chains, and a century’s worth of change in the American drugstore landscape.
The soda fountain was added in 1942 and has been a popular lunch destination ever since. Employees still wear University of Tennessee colors to honor co-founder Lloyd “Doc” Bible, a detail that gives the place a personality you will not find at any chain pharmacy.
The lunch counter runs Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 2 PM, with breakfast until 10:30 AM. The menu includes the famous Bible Burger, scrambled eggs, Biscuits and Gravy, French Toast, grilled cheese, hamburger steak, and daily specials like homemade soup beans with cornbread.
The soda fountain serves hand-dipped ice cream cones, milkshakes, malts, Chocolate Sodas, and Frosty Peppers from 10:30 AM to 6 PM.
Jesse Depew and her husband became the fourth owners in summer 2023. The interior retains its original spinning stools, antique fixtures, and historic memorabilia throughout.
8. Harry Race Pharmacy, Sitka, Alaska
Not many pharmacies double as an Authorized Nikon Dealer, but Harry Race Pharmacy in downtown Sitka is not your average drugstore.
Serving the Sitka community since 1985, Harry Race earned recognition as the 2014 Good Neighbor Pharmacy of the Year. The soda fountain is considered a community treasure, offering sundaes, milkshakes, malts, banana splits, and classic fountain drinks alongside prescriptions and everyday necessities.
The digital photo lab is a genuinely useful addition for travelers, providing passport photos, print scanning, restoration services, quick CD and DVD burning, and professional retouching. The pharmacy also carries gifts, souvenirs, cards, and books, including Theobroma chocolate bars made by a local Sitka chocolatier.
Pharmacy services go well beyond the basics: Harry Race offers 24-hour urgent prescription care, compounding, immunizations, diabetic supplies, and home medical equipment rentals including crutches, wheelchairs, and oxygen. Located on Lincoln Street in the heart of downtown Sitka, it is a practical stop and a nostalgic one, all in the same building.
9. Pitt Street Pharmacy, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Pitt Street Pharmacy has been part of Mount Pleasant’s Old Village since 1937, and it has appeared in places you might recognize, including the movie “The Notebook” and Netflix’s “Outer Banks.”
The soda fountain was added in the 1950s and remains a genuine neighborhood gathering spot. Students stop in after school, locals linger over chocolate malt milkshakes and old-fashioned Cherry Cokes, and visitors come specifically for the retro atmosphere.
The food menu covers hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, grilled cheese, Linda’s Club, and Pimento Cheese sandwiches, with house-made chili and coleslaw.
As East Cooper’s oldest compounding pharmacy, Pitt Street specializes in personalized medicine for both humans and pets, including allergen-free formulations, custom dosages, and veterinary prescriptions. A significant portion of the business focuses on hormonal treatments, with staff offering hormone consultations and saliva-testing kits.
Brandi Sherbert, who started as an intern in 2012, took over ownership in 2022. The sundry shop inside stocks vintage candy, toys, books, jewelry, lotions, and soaps, rounding out a visit nicely.
10. Trivillian’s Pharmacy and Soda Fountain, Charleston, West Virginia
Trivillian’s has been a Kanawha City fixture since December 1950, and it operates out of an Art Deco building constructed in 1949 that still has its original soda fountain counter and stools in daily use.
The menu is the kind that earns genuine loyalty. Their burgers are frequently praised, and the hot dogs can be ordered “West Virginia fashion” with chili, slaw, mustard, and onions.
The “Long Bob,” a shaved ham and Swiss cheese sandwich on special sesame seed bread, recreates a beloved item from the former Bob Phillips Drive-In. Shakes, malts, floats, and sundaes round out the fountain offerings, and the chili and coleslaw are made in-house.
David Penix, who started as an intern at Trivillian’s in 2004, purchased the business and building in 2019, fulfilling a long-held goal. The pharmacy offers compounding services for veterinary, geriatric, and pediatric patients, including custom flavors like chicken and tuna for pet medications.
A small gift shop sells Trivillian’s branded souvenirs, hats, and t-shirts. Delivery, vaccinations, pill packaging, and easy refills complete the service lineup.
11. Crestwood Pharmacy and Soda Fountain, Birmingham, Alabama
Taylor Trammell and Tyler Shadix opened Crestwood Pharmacy in August 2017 with a clear goal: build the kind of neighborhood pharmacy that people actually want to spend time in.
The soda fountain serves milkshakes, waffle cones, coke floats, ice cream sodas, double chocolate sundaes, old-fashioned phosphates, lime rickeys, and egg creams. All ice cream comes from Cammie’s Old Dutch Homemade Ice Cream in Mobile, Alabama, a regional staple since 1969.
Coffee lovers can order cold brew, coffee ice cream sodas, and coffee milkshakes made with local Domestique Coffee.
The pharmacy carries products from local makers, including candles from Cicada Candle Co., kombucha from Harvest Roots, and hemp products from Dry Creek Hemp. As a full compounding pharmacy, Crestwood creates custom medications and offers practical solutions like probiotics to manage antibiotic side effects.
The owners know their customers by name and actively engage with the community, creating the small-town atmosphere the store was designed around. Curbside pickup and free delivery within the Crestwood neighborhood add a layer of convenience to an already welcoming setup.
12. Salida Pharmacy & Fountain, Salida, Colorado
The building in Salida dates to 1884, and the soda fountain equipment inside is nearly as historic: a bar back estimated to be from 1927 and an ice cream freezer from the 1940s, both sourced from closed Colorado pharmacies.
Lucas and Jill Smith opened Salida Pharmacy and Fountain in November 2019, and the menu they built around that vintage equipment is one of the most detailed fountain menus on this entire list. Floats come in creative combinations like the Betty Boop, the Boston Cooler, the Chocolate Cherry, and the Tartypants.
Shakes include the Funky Monkey, the Burnin’ Love, and the Sodashake. Sundaes range from The Hiker to the Bruleed Twinkie, plus a monthly special.
All syrups, hot fudge, and caramel are made in-house. The ice cream comes from Blue Mountain Creamery in Colorado Springs.
Online ordering for the fountain menu and build-your-own sundae kits is available for added convenience.
The pharmacy side offers immunizations, diabetes education classes, hearing screenings, multi-dose packaging, and medication therapy management, serving Salida as a full community health resource.
13. Buda Drug Store and Soda Fountain, Buda, Texas
Pharmacist Tammy Gray opened Buda Drug Store in 2006 because Buda had no locally owned independent pharmacy at the time. Two years in, she leased the adjacent space and added the soda fountain she had always wanted.
The inspiration came directly from the soda fountain at her former Lamar Plaza Drugstore, which had been serving customers since the 1950s. Gray’s version features Blue Bell Ice Cream as the star, with floats, phosphates, shakes, malts, sundaes, handmade sodas, vanilla sodas, and a full coffee bar.
Sandwiches, soups, and baked treats round out the menu for customers who want more than dessert.
The business is celebrating its 20th anniversary in June 2026 and remains the only locally owned independent pharmacy in the area. Staff make a point of knowing customers by name, and the pharmacy offers compounding for veterinary needs, pain management, and hormone replacement therapy alongside standard prescription services.
A mobile app handles prescription refills and pill reminders, which is a notably modern convenience for a place that works hard to feel pleasantly old-fashioned.
