St. Paul Corner Drug will be hosting a “retirement party” for its old-fashioned soda fountain from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The fountain’s final ice cream scoops will be served at the event.
Owner John Hoeschen said the fountain is closing due to financial pressure in the pharmacy industry and a lack of physical space in the building at the corner of Snelling and St. Clair avenues.
The fountain has been out of service since October 2020, when the independent pharmacy needed room to provide vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. After removing the fountain, the drug store will rearrange to maximize its 1,200-square-foot space for vaccination services.
“It (the fountain) wasn’t a profit center, it was more of a community builder,” Hoeschen said. “We had to ask, ‘If we reopen the fountain, can we generate enough revenue to justify its space being there? And the math just didn’t add up.”
Hoeschen said the soda fountain’s closure represents the tough decisions community pharmacies must make to stay in business amid rising costs and low reimbursement rates.
According to the Minnesota Pharmacists Association, 61% of independently owned and 39% of chain pharmacies have closed since 2013. In St. Paul, the West Seventh Pharmacy will be closing June 30 as the owners retire without finding a buyer for their business.
At the farewell party, community members will share memories and stories of the soda fountain, which has been a community gathering place since the pharmacy opened in 1922. Hoeschen said his neighbors met at the fountain, got married and raised their children two blocks away from the pharmacy.
“It’s touched million of lives. It was a great thing, I loved it,” Hoeschen said. “But unfortunately, the times are changing, and we have to retool and focus on trying to keep this pharmacy open.”
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