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In 1989, as Brookhaven Pharmacy on Peachtree Road was closing, Vivian Price wrote an article for the DeKalb New Era titled, “Cherry Cokes and Chicken Pox-Closing of Brookhaven Pharmacy Marks End of Era.” She begins with, “It was a sad day recently when employees and customers gathered to bid fond farewell to a north DeKalb institution-the Brookhaven Pharmacy.”
The pharmacy was located at 4001 Peachtree Road, in a strip shopping center. Later the pharmacy moved across Peachtree Road at 4005. The Brookhaven Marta station sits where Brookhaven Pharmacy was located.
Brookhaven Pharmacy was more than a drug store. As the sign on the front of the pharmacy advertised it also had a soda fountain, serving Coca-cola products and in particular cherry Cokes, as Price recalled. In addition, there was a small grill.
At Valentine’s Day, customers knew that Brookhaven Pharmacy would have heart shaped boxes of candy on hand. Candy from Nunnally’s and Norris Candy companies in Atlanta were popular choices.
Vivian Price shares how the important the pharmacy was to the community. When vaccines were needed, people lined up at Brookhaven Pharmacy. The pharmacists gave advice to families when their children were sick.
It was the place to purchase school supplies as each new school year began. Photographs brought to Brookhaven Pharmacy were developed up Peachtree Road at the Kodak plant in Chamblee.
When the pharmacy closed, Delphia Jackson had worked their over 30 years. She was one of the people that added to the personal experience of going to a small pharmacy where customers were remembered.
As new chain drug stores opened up nearby, including in Cherokee Plaza just north on Peachtree Road, fewer customers went to Brookhaven Pharmacy.
I’ve been talking with people who remember Brookhaven Pharmacy, as well as other businesses nearby. Those businesses include the movie theatre, Brookhaven Supply Company, Woolworth’s, Brookhaven BBQ and a Greek restaurant.
If you have memories of Brookhaven Pharmacy or other nearby businesses that are now gone from the area write me at pasttensega@gmail.com. I’ll share more of these recollections in a future pasttensega post.