The Drugstore Soda Fountain is Back

Ice Cream and Coffee for Now; Sandwiches and More Soon

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Ice cream cones are back on Main Street, along with nostalgia. The Nantucket Pharmacy re-opened the soda fountain this weekend with Will McKenny and Cavy Monahan pictured here. Nicole Tirapelli, not present for the photo, is McKenny’s partner.

Sunday I stopped by the drugstore after church to pick up The New York Times, and there were Will and Cavy behind the counter, serving up hot coffee and ice cream as customers wandered in. Flowers adorned the counter, and a chalkboard propped up against the wall advertised over a dozen flavors of every child’s favorite summertime treat.

Expect to see a fuller menu in the weeks to come with sandwiches and breakfast items after the fire inspection takes place. Will said he’s planning on adding some of the drugstore classics, like ham and pickle sandwiches as well as newer items and hot sandwiches using Portuguese bread.

Will and Cavy are year-round residents of Sconset. Will was introduced to the island as a young boy, spending summers here with his parents. His years of experience in the food service industry started with a summer job at Claudette’s in Sconset, home of the famous meat loaf sandwich. Cavy has artistic tendencies, as evidenced in the chalkboard sign she made.

It’s good news for downtown year-round businesses, whose employees have often relied on the drugstore for a quick mid-morning pick-me-up or a sandwich to-go. It’s a welcome development for the island as a whole as well. We were missing our favorite place to get a soda, frappe or something more substantial.

Given the times we live in, a place like the soda fountain provides more than food.

The pharmacy and soda fountain are among the last vestiges on Main Street of how Nantucket used to be, and a place where everyone went, no matter one’s net worth. Kids have always lined up at the counter for ice cream cones. Regulars once occupied seats at the counter for their morning coffee and maybe an English muffin before it shut down the end of last year.

As a kid it’s where my friends and I would end up after riding our bikes into town on a Saturday after we had scraped together 35 cents for an ice cream sundae. It’s also where I met billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, introduced to him by the late island gallery owner Jimmy Barker. Both men were enjoying ice cream cones at the time.

A year ago, the future of the drugstore and the soda fountain looked bleak indeed as owner Alan Bell wanted to retire, but hadn’t found any buyers for the business he’d owned for over 40 years. But Bell hung in there, and his tenacity paid off. He retained ownership of the building, but sold the business and the new owners subleased the soda fountain to Will McKenney. We wish him the best of luck!