A restaurant in a Miami drugstore? A pharmacist who greets you? How it looked back then
Drugstores seem to be on the corner of every major intersection these days.
The two giants, CVS and Walgreens, look pretty much the same: red signs outside, candy counters up front, prescriptions in back, refrigerated cases of food and drink along the wall, and toys, housewares and personal items across the aisles.
But you want to chat with the pharmacist? Good luck with that.
So what was it like before the giants dominated?
Smaller, mom-and-pop drugstores dotted the landscape. They were on main streets and tucked into many neighborhoods.
The pharmacist may have been the owner, and was often front and center to talk about medicines or life. A diner and soda fountain, with a counter and some tables, served up eggs for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch, milkshakes for the after-school crowd.
There aren’t many small drugstores left in South Florida. But once they were everywhere.
From the archives of the Miami Herald, take a look: