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Former pharmacy to become cafe
Photo
The Wittenauer family, from left, Ryan, 17, Terry, Doug, Mike, 21, Dave, 25, and Jessica, 22, will open a café in a former Poland pharmacy this fall.
POLAND
The two-story brick building on the corner of South Main and College streets originally housed a post office and bakery before becoming a pharmacy.
Now, the family who owns the building plans to open a café in the space this fall.
“It’s like it’s come full circle,” said Jessica Wittenauer, who has taken the lead in planning The Café at Wittenauer’s.
Jessica emphasized that the café is a family affair, with her parents, Doug and Terry, and siblings, Mike and David, all taking active roles in the new business venture.
The Café at Wittenauer’s, 120 S. Main St., will seat about 72 people on the former gift-shop side of Wittenauer Gift Shoppe & Pharmacy. An art gallery and gathering space will take the place of the old pharmacy.
Jessica compared the café style to Panera Bread, in that patrons will order at a counter and pick up their meal on trays. It will feature sandwiches, soups, salads and other café fare, in addition to a bakery.
A renovated room on the second floor will be the home of a photography co-op that will show its members’ work in the downstairs gallery.
The café will open just before the two-year anniversary of the pharmacy’s closure.
The Wittenauer family learned the same day as the public that the pharmacy was closing, said Doug, who owns Pharmacy Data Management and Interdata Management.
In 1965, Doug’s parents, Norman and Lou Ann Wittenauer, opened the pharmacy. In the mid-1990s, a pharmacy owned by Brad Bartels became a tenant in the building.
“They kept the name, but they were an outside pharmacy,” Doug said.
Since then, a dentist and a few other professional offices have stayed open on the building’s second floor, but the lower level remained vacant.
“After the pharmacy closed, a lot of people in the community gave ideas,” Jessica said.
Terry said a convenience store or pottery shop were both suggestions.
“When it closed, people piped up. The most common denominator was food,” Doug said, adding that his family considered a franchise restaurant, but most required owners to commit to 10 or more locations.
So with that, the Wittenauers decided to transform the gift shop and pharmacy into a café.
Once-boarded-up windows and entry ways are now open, and original tile lines part of the walls. The space has been stripped bare, and they all admit it won’t be an easy task to get a café ready for a fall opening, but they are up for the challenge.
“We’re excited to open and serve the community in a lot of different ways,” Jessica said.
For more information about The Café At Wittenauer’s, visit www.facebook.com/thecafeatwittenauers.