BUDA, Texas — Pharmacist Tammy Gray knows a thing or two about making people well. Compounding medications by hand is just part of the charm, and so is the display of vintage medicine bottles inside the pharmacy south of Austin. Even the sign out front takes you back in time.
“We chose Buda Drug Store because it sounded old fashioned from that era. There was a little bit of a hiccup with some of the kids because they interpreted the word ‘drug’ to mean something different from ‘prescription.’ They’ve gotten past that,” said Gray.
She’s been a pharmacist for more than 40 years and wanted that vintage charm when she opened her shop in Buda nearly 20 years ago.
“I love to see the look on peoples’ faces when they walk in and look around and say, ‘Oh, this reminds me of the drugstore my grandmother used to take me to,'” said Gray.
The pharmacy harkens back to the 1930s and ’40s. Gray added an old fashioned soda fountain a couple of years after she opened the drugstore. Her daughter, Mallory Barnett, runs the place.
“Soda fountains started coming about around the 1920’s and it was more like a medicine bar. A lot of times they believed that certain tonics and seltzers were good for all sorts of ailments,” said Barnett.
These days the sodas might not be a cure-all, but they do help in other ways. Barnett says sodas, a friendly word and a smile go a long way.
“It’s a sense of family. You walk in and you don’t feel like you’re just another customer. We see you for who you are. We remember your family, your kids. It’s beautiful,” said Barnett.
And whether it’s a quick pick-me-up with ice cream or a prescription pickup at the drugstore, Barnett says it’s the vintage vibe that keeps customers coming back.