Drugstore closes: Two weeks after the Grinnell Pharmacy moved into Hy-Vee, the remaining downtown pharmacy announces that it, too, has been purchased

by Vashti Davis

Staff Writer

“My daughter is going to be so upset,” said one woman as she sat at the soda fountain.

Another brought in jars to buy the infamous “Candyland marshmallow” before it is sold out.

Many recounted memories of sitting in the same place nearly 30 years ago.

Part of the Grinnell community for nearly 65 years, little has changed in the pharmacy started by Don Cunningham in 1938. The only major remodeling occurred after a fire in 1954. Since 1955, the pharmacy has occupied the same one-story building, supplying both the pharmaceutical and confectionary needs of Grinnell.

But on March 1, 2003, exactly one month after the Grinnell Pharmacy closed after being purchased by the Hy-Vee Corporation, Cunningham’s Drugstore will also shut its doors.

Hy-Vee has also recently purchased small pharmacies in Netwon, Carson City, and Pella, IA.

The son of the original business operator, Jim Cunningham, is 65 years old, and says he’s ready to retire: the Hy-Vee Corporation offered him a good price, and he took the chance.

Hy-Vee has offered all the employees positions, although any seniority they’ve accumulated will be lost. What will become of the building is still uncertain.

With the 1955 remodeling, Cunningham’s soda fountain replaced the restaurant that had previously shared the pharmacy’s building. It was from this restaurant that the counter took its most popular dish, the “Candyland” sundae. A community favorite, people have crowded around the counter to share, and steal, bites of this rich dessert for decades.

Ever popular, the soda fountain is still crowded with people this week. After the announcement that the store would be closing was made, the counter’s manager, Wendy, noted a slight increase of customers. Those who come are not always cheerful. “People are very sad,” said Wendy Cottrell. “Some have been coming here for over 60 years.”

Jim Miller, a local barber, described a typical fountain morning at the fountain, during which no seats are free before 11 a.m. “The women come and gossip at 8:30, and the men are talking politics between 10:30 and 11,” Miller said. As they sipped their five-cent coffees, those seated around the counter recounted romances’ beginnings and past employees’ smiles.

One man talked of the “birthday club,” where a person with a birthday paid $5 in the morning, and anyone could get a cup of coffee for free before noon. Another reminisced about George W. Bush’s visit in 1996. For most, the soda fountain has always been a place to sit back, relax, and talk with old friends.

Many agreed with Miller when he said, “It is a tradition that we thought would never vanish.”

Asked about Hy-Vee’s purchase of Cunningham’s only weeks after assuming ownership of Grinnell’s only other downtown pharmacy, Cunningham said he would not comment until March 3.