Boone Drug Fountain closing after 92 years

BOONE, N.C.,None — To Joe Miller, the corner seat at the Fountain at Boone Drug store feels a lot like home.

"People say, ‘What sign were you born under?' I say, ‘The Boone Drug Sign," he said.

And it's true: Miller was born in a car right outside the building in 1939. He spent his first week at a doctor's office that used to be located upstairs.

In a way, he never left.

"I worked here about 40 years," he said. "It's a long time."

Miller, who retired from the pharmacy in 1995 to devote time to his other business, Cheap Joe's Art Supplies, will miss "those cheeseburgers" when the Fountain turns off its griddles for good after Saturday.

"I would love for it to stay forever, but not many things last forever," Miller said.

Starting Jan. 1, the Fountain gives way to F.A.R.M. (Feed All Regardless of Means) Cafè, a restaurant where patrons can pay what they can afford, be it in cash or volunteer hours. The new cafè is expected to open by April.

But for the rest of this week: "I'm trying to eat here as much as I possibly can," owner Kay Stacy said.

She's not alone.

Patrons have been coming in all week to take advantage of the restaurant that's more than food and service.

"It's people," Miller said.

But that's not to say that he won't miss the sweet tea, french fries and cheeseburgers.

"They cook them when you order it," he said. "You can get it the way you want it. They're better."

Adam Frazier has worked at the Fountain for a year and a half and says it's just different than other jobs.

"It's more like a family environment," he said. "A little more laid back, I guess as far as the customers are concerned."

That's how it's always been, Miller said, since the store started where the Mast General Store building is today. In 1919, Dr. George Kelly Moose moved the business to its current location where, during the years, in addition to the Fountain and the pharmacy, it's sold everything from canoes to tobacco.

Miller got his start at the Fountain "sweeping, mopping and selling fishing equipment."

Miller can still remember the first chocolate soda he ever made. The process was simple — soda water, chocolate flavoring, ice cream and more soda water. It was the soda water crank that was complicated."If you pulled it this way, it would just stream out," he said. "I pulled it the wrong way, that fast water came out and it got all over the man and his suit and tie. I just knew I would be fired that day."

Miller had been studying taxidermy at the University of Iowa when Boone Drug's owners gave him a proposition while taking a Sunday drive in a 1957 yellow Buick convertible.

"He pitched me the keys and said, ‘Here, you drive,'" Miller said. "He said, ‘Why don't you go to pharmacy school and when you come back, we'll sell you a third of the drug store?'"

Miller enrolled in UNC-Chapel Hill's pharmacy program, and that's exactly what happened.

"I didn't have to work at the Fountain anymore," Miller said.

In the 1960s, Jim Furman and John Stacy joined the business. In the 1980s, the iconic train started its trek around the Fountain, complete with a backdrop painted by Miller, depicting how Boone used to be, with Yogi's Sandwich Shop and the Appalachian Theatre.

While the placement of the counter has moved (it used to be a straight barricade against the kitchen area) and the seats have changed from stools to booths to chairs, the best part of the Fountain hasn't changed, Miller said. It's the company. "Used to come in here and you knew everybody," Miller said, mentioning governors and congressmen who used to just "drop by."

Now, he only knows "most everybody." Miller was at the Fountain for 10 minutes Wednesday before being invited to join a group of friends, including county commissioner Jim Deal, who grew up drinking chocolate sodas at the Fountain.

"Look at this table right here," Miller said. "It's all local people at this table every day, and after they get through their sports stuff, they solve the problems of the world and politics and everything else."

Deal started coming to the Fountain in elementary school and used to walk over after high school — an easy walk from what's now Chapel Wilson Hall at Appalachian State University.

"It was something to get to come downtown to Boone Drug," Deal said. "That was special. You walk in here, it has a feel. Old wooden floors. You look up at the ceiling … it has the character of yesterday. Brings back memories. And you always have someone here who's going to answer whatever question you might have."

Economist Harry Davis prefers Boone Drug hot dogs, but also comes for the company of friends such as Larry Nance.

"Larry Nance comes because he can sit at the end of the table, order dry toast and stay about three hours," he joked. "It's a slow place. You can stay here quite awhile."

There's a lot of joking at Boone Drug.

Dusty Stacy knows that firsthand. His father co-owned the store and he grew up at the Fountain. "It was great," he said. "I always had somewhere to go to get cheeseburgers and hot dogs."

Tony Isaacs eat breakfast and lunch at the Fountain.

"Just can't stay away," he said.

But it's not just a place to find Boone's regulars. You never know who you'll run into.

"The (ASU) alumni, when they come back to Boone, they will invariably come back here and have lunch," Davis said. "It's incredible. I see former students in here all the time."

And, while the group pledges to try the new F.A.R.M. Cafè, it's hard to imagine the Fountain not being there with fresh eggs Monday morning.

"It's kind of like a part of your history passing away," Deal said.

Lois Norris has worked at Boone Drug for 48 years and has eaten lunch at the Fountain almost every day.

"It may not be special to everyone," she said, "but it's special to me. … I hate to see the change, but it's coming."

Yet that change won't come until Jan. 1. On Friday and Saturday, the griddle will still heat up, meaning plenty of time for one last burger.

Downtown Boone Drug is located at 617 W. King St. The pharmacy and the store portion will remain the same, with only the Fountain changing.

For more information on F.A.R.M. Cafè, visit http://www.farmcafe.org .

WSOC