Lukes Drug Mart ups the cool-factor in Bridgeland

Despite a constantly growing number of outlet malls and big box stores, Calgarians are embracing the neighbourhood market. 

They are those small one-stop shops that offer everything from prescriptions to stamps to a jug of milk with a sense of community, and all within walking distance.

Lukes Drug Mart is one such place, and it's come a long way since it opened in 1951.

A real-life sign of the times, it has morphed from traditional neighbourhood drugstore — the oldest independent pharmacy in Calgary — with a small lunch counter to a hip coffee stop.

It also has a small but well-curated selection of books, apothecary items, and stacks of vinyl you have to walk through to get to the post office or the groceries downstairs.

In the community for 64 years

The latest changes are thanks to Gareth Lukes, grandson of Jim Lukes who started the family-run business 64 years ago.

"I've been working full time here since I was 15," Gareth said. "I did high school through correspondence.... I've been here a long time."

His pharmacist father, Bob, took over Lukes in the 1980s, and passed it on to his son about five years ago.

"We sort of ignored what a pharmacy is supposed to be and did our own thing," Gareth said. "It's been an adventure."

They've switched from Stumptown to Four Barrel Coffee (an even smaller roaster in San Francisco).

The coffee bar is front and centre where baristas brew (and Chemex) iced lattes and flat whites alongside offerings of Porter's Tonic, cocktail bitters and Mast Brothers chocolate.

There are taxidermied pheasants on the wall and in the corner, there's a little free library.

'Oozing effortless cool'

As one Yelp reviewer put it: "It's a totally unique place in Calgary that's just oozing effortless cool."

Downstairs the small one room basement grocery is well stocked with local products, including fresh produce, cheese, chicken from TK Ranch, Spolumbo's sausage, Broek Acres pork, Fiasco Gelato and even frozen entrees from Vij's in Vancouver — who did, after all, get his start in the kitchen at the Fairmont Banff Springs.

"We opened the market in the '70s, but we really didn't know what we were doing," Gareth said.

"Now we're playing around with it. One thing we've done recently is we've switched from using traditional grocery suppliers for produce and have started working with restaurant suppliers. The quality and consistency is so much better."

With a smaller space than most shopping supercentres, the focus is on well-curated goods. But there are still plenty of options.

In a classic case of what's old is new again, Lukes serves its community as well as Calgarians en route to work, or who just need to pick up some eggs along with their coffee, beard oil and ABBA on vinyl.

Lukes Drug Mart is located at 112 Fourth St. N.E.