Pharmacy sets the ‘pace’ in heart of Nichols

In the center of the small town of Nichols, at 118 South Main Street, across the street from the fire station, stands Pace’s Pharmacy. A.B. “Butch” Pace Jr. said his father, A.B. “Burney” Pace Sr., opened the store in 1936. Like his father, Pace graduated from the University of South Carolina Pharmacy School and joined the family business in 1967.

He and his wife, Jeanette, continue to work part-time, after selling the store about a year ago. “For many years we had the bus station, which stopped right out here in the back,” he said, remembering the days when the town was bustling. Pace said he’s still a little nostalgic about that era.

“We’ve been here so long that we know everybody and are able to identify chronic diseases that run in families,” he said of the benefit of operating a family run, independent, hometown pharmacy. Nowadays, along with new co-owners Michael Lyn Thompson and Kelli Nolan, and the help of Michelle Rowell and Angie Floyd, the Paces run the store, six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

A unique factor in being successful, Pace said, after all these years, is having a variety of items in the shop. For instance, a gift shop flanks the pharmacy, and on the other side of the store there is a luncheon counter that features a classic soda fountain short order sandwiches and such. While waiting to get prescriptions filled, customers peer at magazine covers, sift through greeting cards or order homemade chicken salad, a slice of cake, or an “orangeade” soda.

“It’s been here for so long … Not many stores have them. There are only two (soda fountains) in Marion County,” Pace said, adding that personal service is something they provide to everyone who walks in. “Nichols is a territory that goes up to the city limits of Lake View and 15 miles in another direction, so it’s quite a large area even though the town is very small,” he added, mentioning that customers come from far and wide.

“We try and supply things people don’t have to go out of town to get and are always sensitive to what they would like for us to have,” he adds. Pace said the pharmacy is flexible and that he is available 24 hours. He added that the relationship with the customers has extended for generations and plays a major part in their service to the community.

“We’re in a good location and it’s always been a good business here,” Jeanette Pace said, adding that every day is different. “Some days are busier than others, but it’s always very interesting,” She said, adding that they are all “jacks-of-all-trades.“