KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On a recent snowy day in the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood, the lunch crowd at Long’s Drugstore was nowhere to be found. However, customers still called nonstop, the phone ringing off the hook. Hank Peck, the owner of the drug store, said he understood why so many people were calling.
"I think a lot of people were expecting to be able to come by today or see us, and we weren’t able to open, so they are calling," he said.
A sale sign and almost bare shelves are evidence of the store's closure. It was supposed to be the final day of business for the Bearden fixture, but Mother Nature had other plans. Snow, around 9 inches deep, forced Peck to make the hard decision to close for good the day before he originally planned.
"It’s humbling," Peck said with a sigh. "It makes me sad that we have to do this, but I think it says a lot about the community."
This pharmacy and fountain, a throwback to simpler days, was a hub in the community — a place to pick up a prescription and then enjoy a burger and shake. Customers of many kinds arrived to talk football or politics and celebrate life’s milestones.
"I feel like a lot of people in the community have made it their own. I love that because that’s the way I always wanted people to feel," Peck said.
The tables and food counter are now empty. Just days before, the fountain was overflowing with the faithful making one last visit and one more memory.
For Peck, the drugstore was a second home. His father, Jim, and Uncle Ed bought it in 1971.
"There was always stuff going on," Peck said. "It was always fun just being at the drug store, at the shopping center, because at that time there wasn’t anything out west. This was the first shopping center in Knoxville and the drugstore was the first tenant."
The second-generation pharmacist took over the business in 1994, passing on the love for Long's and a way of life.
"I wanted my children to grow up and experience something that I experienced, to grow up in here and they did," he said.
So did long-time employees like Ruth Pate. She spent 45 years waiting on customers, but more importantly, serving up conversations in the fountain. Peck dubbed it the “Feel Good" side of the store.
"I once told Ruth, 'You probably don’t know how much you really contribute to health care with just who you are and what you are doing,'" said Peck.
But running the homegrown pharmacy side, Peck adds, proved to be too challenging given the ever-changing world of healthcare.
"Not just here, but any retail pharmacy, you are reimbursed underwater — and sometimes significantly to the point it doesn’t make sense to open the door," Peck said.
That ultimately led Peck to make the decision to close the doors permanently. When asked what he will miss most about his beloved pharmacy Peck quietly said he would miss his father.
"Yeah, he raised a lot of this community," he said.
The phone will soon stop ringing at Long's and the remaining shelves will be cleared — an end to a neighborhood institution that Peak said he was simply the "caretaker" of.
"I’ve always said that this place belonged to the community, not to me," he said.