Heights drugstore, lunch counter to remain: Manager: ‘No plans to change traditional identity’
Rumors circulating around the Island on the fate of the Shelter Island Heights drugstore’s lunch counter, including that it was slated to become a wine bar/bistro, have been scotched by the executive charged with managing the place.
Peter Garcia, a certified hotel administrator and area general manager with CXR Hospitality, a part of the Soloviev Group, said it will remain a drugstore, albeit one that doesn’t fill prescriptions, and the lunch counter will continue to operate.
“I am currently working on reintroducing a more traditional soda fountain menu, bringing back some of the classic offerings that residents and visitors have enjoyed over the years,” he added. “My goal is to have this menu ready before Dec. 15.”
Mr. Garcia said that “there are no plans to convert the Shelter Island soda fountain into a wine bar or bistro, nor are there plans to change its traditional identity.”
His group, Mr. Garcia said, is working “diligently to improve and update the drug store while maintaining its longstanding role in the community.”
In October 2025 there was an out-of-the-blue announcement by the Soloviev Group that they were shutting down all prescription services at the Shelter Island Heights Pharmacy.
Mr. Garcia said the place is continuing to “offer a substantial selection of over-the-counter medications, health and personal care products, and other everyday necessities that our neighbors and visitors rely upon, all at reasonable prices. In fact, we have continued to expand certain product offerings to better serve the community.”
He added that the iconic business holds “a special place in the hearts of many Islanders” and he and his organization want to preserve its traditions.
The Queen Ann-style structure on Grand Avenue is the first business visitors see when they get off the North Ferry. Not long after the Soloviev Group purchased the pharmacy, the “Soda-Drugs” sign was taken down, but has been replaced. “While I can’t speak to the decisions or reasoning of previous management, I can speak to what has taken place under my direction,” Mr. Garcia said. “The historic sign was personally re-installed by me before the beginning of the 2026 season.”
He added that he recognized “the significance of this sign to Shelter Island and its residents. Its history and sentimental value are precisely why I made certain it was returned to its rightful place.”
Once an integral part of any drugstore, lunch counters are now history, except on Shelter Island. The counter isn’t retro, because it’s never gone away in more than 100 years of serving up breakfast and lunch.
According to the Shelter Island Historical Society, the building pre-dates 1883, and it seems it was always a drugstore. The first pharmacist on the Island, C. Wesley Smith, set up shop here and there have been several owners since, the last being the Soloviev Group.
