"Doc" Gregg hung up his white coat more than 35 years ago, but people still remember the man who dispensed both wisdom and prescriptions from behind the counter at his 50th and France pharmacy.
When Gregg opened his business in 1929, the crossroads was not yet a fully developed commercial district. The business mix reflected the needs of a rural community: a blacksmith shop, church, general store, dry goods store, garage and creamery. Perhaps this is why one of Gregg's early ads proclaimed, "We do not sell horse collars."
But Edina was growing, with new homes going up in the Country Club District and Morningside. The streetcar line on France Avenue brought customers to his door, and for residents stuck at home, Gregg’s promised “delivery with a smile.”
People found plenty of reasons to go to the corner drug store. Gregg’s originally featured a soda fountain at the front of the store, which became a hangout for Edina children. Gregg promoted the "healthful drinks" served at the fountain, but he confessed in one news article to favoring chocolate sodas.
Gregg moved the counter to the back of the store in 1948, in order to give his customers privacy to consult with him on their medications. While a standard practice today, the idea was so revolutionary then that it captured the attention of a national trade magazine.
In 1975, Gregg retired at age 76, and Marty’s Barbershop moved into the store space. Chico’s, a women’s clothing store, has occupied the corner since 1987.
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The favorite hangouts of Edina children are featured in the Edina History Museum’s “Growing Up in Edina: A Show and Tell Exhibit,” on display through October 2012.
