{"id":298,"date":"2014-03-01T19:36:38","date_gmt":"2014-03-01T19:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tmn.truman.edu\/detours\/?p=298"},"modified":"2020-10-21T04:14:46","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T04:14:46","slug":"jennifers-pharmacy-and-soda-shoppe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmn.truman.edu\/detours\/2014\/03\/01\/jennifers-pharmacy-and-soda-shoppe\/","title":{"rendered":"Jennifer’s Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jennifer's<\/a>Perched on bar stools, customers cheer, \u201cFly, monkey, fly!\u201d as someone tosses a stuffed monkey from one end of the countertop to the other. The famous Flying Monkey milkshake can\u2019t be served until the plush toy makes it through the hula hoop. Shenanigans like this are daily experiences for both patrons and employees at Jennifer\u2019s Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe in Clayton, Mo.<\/p>\n

When Jennifer\u2019s first opened in 1991, it was a pharmacy filling general prescriptions and selling natural products like supplements, vitamins, herbs and homeopathic remedies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted my own store,\u201d says Jennifer Rich, pharmacist and owner of Jennifer\u2019s. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to just go work for somebody else, and so that\u2019s when Jennifer\u2019s Pharmacy kind of took shape and became what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retro bar stools give Jennifer\u2019s an \u201cold school\u201d atmosphere that is equally evident in the gift shop across the room. Its expansive selection includes \u201cpenny candy\u201d and gag gifts like \u201cwash away your sins\u201d hand sanitizers and \u201cunderstand your mother instantly\u201d breath spray.<\/p>\n

In 2005, Rich took her customers\u2019 advice. After a number of people told her all she was missing was a soda shoppe, she moved Jennifer\u2019s to a larger venue where the first step was to add a soda fountain\u2013a mechanism from the 1920s that distributes carbonated water. Rich says she was thrilled to finally install one, beginning a new chapter at Jennifer\u2019s. Quickly, the business morphed into the Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe that customers know and love today.<\/p>\n

Now, after customers pick up their medicine and meander through the gift shop, they can sit down at the counter and order a freshly made sandwich. If they\u2019re thirsty, Jennifer\u2019s has plenty to offer, including milkshakes, spritzers and\u00a0phosphates.<\/p>\n

The Flying Monkey, for example,\u00a0comes with its own miniature circus act, making it a popular choice. Originally, Rich would slingshot the toy around the store to relieve stress. She turned a personal stress relief technique\u00a0into regular fun by incorporating it into the menu, making Jennifer\u2019s the home of the literal Flying Monkey. The milkshake itself is made with vanilla ice cream, bananas and hot fudge, and it\u2019s topped with whipped cream, nuts and a cherry.<\/p>\n

Other popular items include the Pie Milkshake\u2013a slice of fresh homemade pie mixed in a blender with ice cream\u2013and Mexican Coke. This kind of Coke is different from the kind people can buy in stores because it is made with real sugar.<\/p>\n

Thus, when it comes to satisfying that sweet tooth, Jennifer\u2019s has plenty to offer. For many customers, however, it\u2019s hard to top a Mary\u2019s Famous Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie. Mary LaBerta has been working at Jennifer\u2019s since 1991\u2013 before the Soda Shoppe even existed\u2013but she has been baking cookies long before she joined the team. What started as her family\u2019s recipe has become one of Jennifer\u2019s most popular treats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just kind of evolved,\u201d LaBerta says. \u201cI never really thought anything about it until someone had a cookie and they said, \u2018you should make these.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Cindy Davis has been working at the Soda Shoppe for four years and says she loves all the nonsense and silliness that comes with the job. All of the employees at Jennifer\u2019s agree that the customers make the job worthwhile. Most of their patrons are regulars, and over time the employees have gotten to know them and hear their stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a fun place to work,\u201d Davis says. \u201cEverybody should experience a fun place to work once in their life.<\/p>\n

Rich explains\u00a0it\u2019s fun watching kids grow up and have their own children\u00a0all while remaining loyal customers. Davis agrees the relationships she and other employees build with patrons make the Soda Shoppe feel homey. \u00a0Yet, each day she sees a new face sitting at the counter.<\/p>\n

College student Katie Wilhelm has eaten at Jennifer\u2019s more than six times. She always stops to order a milkshake with her friends when she drives home from Illinois\u00a0for breaks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can\u2019t decide on anything else,\u201d she says, \u201cI go for the Flying Monkey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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