"Soda fountains were once a common fixture in pharmacies, and people truly thought that fizzy drinks could really cure their ailments. In the early 20th century, though, soda fountains took on their own identity. Throughout Prohibition, bars serving alcoholic cocktails and beers were no longer an option, so soda fountains, still often located in drugstores, stepped in as fun places to drink and socialize."
"The drugstore chain had a wide range of sodas on offer, but many who remember frequenting K&B (before it was purchased by Rite Aid in the 1990s) feel nostalgic over one option in particular: nectar. Strangely, nectar sodas, which were made with a combination of vanilla and bitter almond, were only really popular in New Orleans and Cincinnati, Ohio. In fact, the flavor was probably more popular in Cincinnati, where it was served from soda fountains as early as the 1870s."
Soda originated in the pharmaceutical industry, with soda fountains commonly located inside pharmacies and viewed as medicinal remedies for various ailments. During Prohibition, soda fountains became social substitutions for bars, serving families, teens, and parents as gathering places staffed by soda jerks who mixed flavored concoctions. The mid-20th-century soda fountain era inspired strong nostalgia as its prominence faded in the United States, although a few retro-themed establishments persist. Classic fountain drinks such as nectar sodas (vanilla and bitter almond), phosphates, and egg creams represent distinctive regional flavors and preparations that have largely disappeared but remain culturally resonant.
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