Double Duty Pharmacy: Diner, speakeasy and fashion haven

Brents Drugs, which opened in October 1946, is still a beloved landmark in Jackson, Miss. Local Pharmacist Alvin Brent launched the space as a pharmacy/soda fountain, eventually focusing more on serving diner fare and other family favourites. Medicinal prescriptions that didn’t taste very good were compounded with a bit of soda water and simple syrup to be more palatable and over time these compounds evolved into milkshakes too.CVS eventually bought the pharmacy and moved it down the street and Brad Reeves, a lawyer who had grown up in the area, took over the soda fountain/diner in 2009, making sure to preserve much of its original charm and pharmacy memorabilia to this day.Read: Downtown refresh uncovers historical pharmacyIn 2013, he and his business partners opened a cocktail lounge called The Apothecary at the back of the building in a former storage room behind the kitchen. It features a plethora of cocktails on its “Prescriptions” drink list and made Esquire Magazine’s "Best Bars in America" list in 2020.Further down the gulf coast of Mississippi in Ocean’s Springs sits the Lovelace Drug Store building constructed in 1926 for Dr. Oscar N. Bailey who was a local family doctor. Read: Italy's oldest operating pharmacy is a slice of magicThe building housed his medical practice and a pharmacy called Ocean Springs Drugs, which was eventually renamed Lovelace Drugs in the 1950s. It became a favorite spot for locals and even Elvis Presley stopped in once.Pharmacist Clark Levi took over the building and pharmacy which was involved in an FBI raid in 2019 in connection with a healthcare fraud scheme. Levi died in a car crash the same year. The iconic building now houses a men’s and women’s clothing store called Chandeleur Outfitters. Read: Meet the world’s oldest pharmacistThis is part of our Double Duty Pharmacy series, showcasing converted pharmacies from around the globe. If you come across a transformed pharmacy in your travels, please send a picture and short description to Vicki Wood.

Double Duty Pharmacy: Diner, speakeasy and fashion haven

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