Holbrook Drug in downtown Morehead is celebrating 75 years in business. Customers and staff said the store’s counters have been a place to gather like family for decades.
“We are here to celebrate the 75 years in business of Holbrook Drug, an exciting day and something that doesn’t happen much anymore,” said Jennifer Anderson, pharmacist and owner of Holbrook Drug. Located on Main Street, Holbrook’s has been a long-standing staple of the community, providing pharmacy services and more to the people of Morehead over the years.
“I’m the third owner of the store. So, it hasn’t been passed all over the place. So, it’s kind of exciting, and all of us have worked here for years, long before we even bought it,” said Anderson.
When she was younger, Anderson worked Holbrook’s soda fountain before going to pharmacy school. After graduation, she moved back home and found her place working alongside then owner Paul Cooper, until he sold the business to her in 2013.
Brooke Thomas, manager at Holbrook’s, said even though the store is no longer run by a Holbrook, the establishment still has strong family roots.
“Although it’s not the same family that it’s continued on, we’ve continued through family. Different families and continued it through family friends and we bring people together and I hope to keep bringing my family here and to one day bring my kids here,” said Thomas. “It’s just a great thing to be a part of, and hopefully one day my kids will feel the same way, so, it’s exciting!”
Thomas added that, to her, Holbrook’s is more than just where she works. It’s where she can help the families of the community lead the best lives possible. It’s where she can help support other generations, and somewhere she hopes to get to stick around for a while.
“I feel honored to be a part of just the 10 years I’ve been here, and to see the older staff that’s been here for much longer,” said Thomas. “It’s a privilege to see a legacy continue to build and I hope to still be here, honestly for the hundredth year, so my goal is to continue to be a part of the legacy.”
Braden Baldridge is the marketing coordinator for Holbrook Drug. As a Morehead native, he said Holbrook’s has maintained its small-town charm over the years, but still managed to keep up with the times.
“It’s changed a lot since I was younger, you know? I remember being in here and, you feel like its aligned more today with like the trends so its brighter, its more modern,” said Baldridge.
Carol Holbrook is the wife of one of the original Mr. Holbrook’s sons. She said the pharmacy and store continues to bring in people of all ages, who make their own memories and - special associations - there.
“Their sons refer to this, not as the pharmacy, not as the drug store, nothing like that, but the cherry coke place. So that’s what they’re known for is the cherry coke,” said Holbrook.
Jennifer Anderson summed it up, saying Holbrooks is, in a word, family.
“What it means to Morehead, and the whole community is, I think just family. I think it means a place for people to go, a place for people to go and feel like they’re a person, they’re not a number, they’re part of the family. We have our regulars who come and sit at the fountain, we have our regulars who just come visit! And that’s not even talking about our patients that have been coming here, and their grandparents came here. It is just a part of history,” said Anderson.
And as people gathered on Main Street for the celebration, most seemed to agree. Holbrook Drug - a pharmacy, soda shop, place to gather with friends and family for the last 75 years.