The historic soda fountain at Waltz Pharmacy, now simply The Waltz Soda Fountain, reopened May 23 with a new look after several months of renovations.
The Jacobs family and the Reny family, longtime business partners and owners of the building, celebrated the event with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Renys President John Reny and other local dignitaries spoke at the ceremony.
Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus said the reopening of the soda fountain “speaks volumes for the investment Renys has made in our community, not just in the business community, but in the heritage of Damariscotta.”
“We’re delighted to see a door back open here on Main Street,” said Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce President Marva Nesbit. “I know a lot of the regulars are happy to have the fountain back open, but with some of the changes that have been made, they’re going to find a whole group of new regulars.”
Reny thanked the contractors who worked on the project and his brother, Bob Reny, for taking a break from retirement to oversee the work.
“The most important people to thank are our employees,” Reny said. “We figure they moved every item here four times and they dusted every item, with all the construction, probably 100 times.”
“We really, really appreciate it because that’s what made this whole thing work, because we never closed except for one day” during a blizzard, he said.
“We live in a great, great town here,” Reny said. “Damariscotta is probably one of the greatest towns in Maine and probably one of the greatest towns in the country.”
“I did some quick calculations and I bet you right now there’s $1 million worth of private investment going on this town,” Reny said, referring to projects at the Lincoln Theater, Maine Coast Book Shop, Schooner Landing and elsewhere.
“We have three new stores that just came in. It’s amazing,” Reny said. “My father always said Damariscotta was the best mistake he ever made, to move to and start a store, ’cause boy, if you can’t do it here, you can’t do it anywhere.”
The Jacobs and Reny families co-own The Waltz Soda Fountain LLC, a new company separate from R.H. Reny Inc., which operates the Renys stores; and Waltz Pharmacy Inc., which operated the pharmacy.
Perley Waltz opened Waltz Pharmacy and its soda fountain in 1948. Waltz’s grandson Dean Jacobs is now the president of the family company. The pharmacy closed in late 2011 and the soda fountain closed for renovations in December 2012.
The soda fountain offers more variety than in the past. Regulars can still have a cup of coffee and a doughnut and read a newspaper at the old-fashioned lunch counter, and downtown shoppers can still stop in with the kids for a hot dog, ice cream sundae or soda.
New items include fresh salads, sandwiches, bakery items and pizza by the slice from local restaurants. The “Local To Go” offerings will include items from Best Thai, Crissy’s, Damariscotta River Grill, Fernald’s, King Eider’s Pub, Metcalf’s, Muscongus Bay Lobster, Newcastle Publick House, Rising Tide, Samoset Restaurant and Savory Maine.
Availability from the individual businesses will vary, but there will always be a large selection on hand, Mary Kate Reny said.
The renovations to the soda fountain included recessing the wall behind the fountain to make more room and add new appliances, although the old-fashioned frappe maker and hot fudge equipment remain.
The renovation also provided a facelift to Renys Underground. The wall between the pharmacy and the store has been removed and an expanded shoe department occupies much of the pharmacy space.
The entire street level of the store has new flooring, ceiling tiles and efficient lighting.
The exterior and interior have a new paint job and the trademark Waltz Rexall sign on Main Street now reads “soda fountain” as well. An elevator, almost complete, will top off the project.
