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Pat Whitten flits about, moving from customer to customer and talking as fast as she can.
“We should have put a tent outside and brought in a circus,” says a breathless Whitten, looking around the huge space that houses the newly expanded Ben Franklin Apothecary in Duncanville.
“We’ve had a record number of sales over this three-day period,” Whitten says, clearly amazed.
The store, a mainstay in Duncanville for more than 40 years, just opened an additional 3,100 square feet of space after acquiring the property next door to its 302 N. Main St. location.
“It’s just been a madhouse,” says Whitten, a longtime employee, adding that crowds earlier in the day were even larger.
The apothecary is a multifaceted business that operates like a modern-day “mom-and-pop” shop in a world full of chain stores. Its name is a reference to a fully stocked pharmacy that offers hard-to-find items, particularly for diabetics.
But it’s also a high-end gift shop that offers a little bit of everything from college memorabilia to electronics, toys and other items.
Inside, its Kitchens Deli is world-class and features old-fashioned ice-cream sodas and a full menu of homemade sandwiches and other foods, and owners Dan and Janice Jespersen have just opened a quilt shop in part of the expanded area.
“It’s not quite double the space, but it’s close,” Whitten says.
The apothecary has a full stable of employees from diverse backgrounds, and apparently has someone who specializes in just about everything.
Debbie Essom is the “Pie Lady” who makes all the store’s pies from scratch. Sandra Cheshier, at the moment, stands behind a counter that contains a vast array of candies.
Janice Willson is the “Queen of Display,” and she’s responsible for setting up appealing presentations on the shelves. Another employee personalizes all of the store’s Christmas ornaments.
“I’ll have been here six years Jan. 2,” Essom says, running off a list of pies you can get here: chocolate, lemon, pumpkin, coconut and on and on. “But I didn’t start making them right away.”
“Oh, you were making pies from the word ‘Go’,” Whitten counters.
Today, the store is alive with customers as Christmas music filters throughout. Someone mans a station where people can sample dips and offers some sugar-free hot apple cider that passes the taste test from more than one cider skeptic.
“It’s made with Splenda, which is a big deal for diabetics,” Whitten says.
In 1999, Dan and Janice purchased the apothecary from Dan’s parents, original owners Wes and Ann Jespersen.
“When Dan’s dad first moved here, he worked for a store here, then they wanted to transfer him to Virginia,” Janice Jespersen says. “Well, he didn’t want to go. The kids were in junior high then, and they really liked Texas, so they eventually settled here and opened their own store.”
The expanded deli area used to be a pet store full of goldfish and other small animals 40 years ago, Janice says.
Years ago, Dan Jespersen worked for a major drugstore chain, but he wanted more family-friendly hours. Then his father Wes offered him a job at the apothecary, where he still works today, albeit as one of the owners.
When sales at the pharmacy weren’t very strong in the early days, the store started offering ice cream, Janice says.
Later, in the waning years of Wes and Ann’s tenure as owners, Kitchens Deli opened. Everything is made from scratch from homemade ingredients, including a spectacular chicken salad sandwich served with fresh fruit and your choice of Dublin Dr Pepper or any of a number of exotic soda products.
“It started off kind of shaky and the pharmacy kind of carried it,” Janice says.
But, no longer.
“They were lined up on top of each other two years ago,” she says, referring to the deli’s customers. “The lines got so long that someone asked, ‘What are you going to do with all of these people?’”
Not long after that, the Orange Tree Gallery next door started plans to move back to its original location, and just like that, the idea for expansion started to form.
“The (Orange Tree) owner, Norma McKinney, said she wanted us to have the first crack at taking over the property,” Janice says.
The deli now has ample seating area, and the Jespersens added “Preserving Memories,” a quilting shop that’s anchored by an original 19th century fireplace and will soon house a quilting press.
The pharmacy is the only one in Duncanville that will deliver on the same day, and it features several shelves stocked with products for people coping with diabetes.
“People just seem to find things here that they can’t find anywhere else,” Janice says. “People come from Arlington for hairnets. We’ve tried to keep that dime-store mentality fresh.”
