A steady stream of customers poured into Jerry’s Soda Shoppe on a warm recent day. They wanted to get their last licks of ice cream and wallow in milkshakes and signature ice cream sodas before their favorite store in Canoga Park closes after 33 years in business.

The din from chatter about losing the shop located inside De Soto Pharmacy dominated many conversations lamenting over where they’ll get their next fix, since this soda fountain is believed to be the last oasis of its kind in the Valley.

The DeSoto Pharmacy, a staple of Valley life in a Canoga Park neighborhood, will soon be closing for good. Edith Morales has worked the counter at Jerrys Soda Shoppe in the pharmacy for decades.(photo by Andy Holzman)

The DeSoto Pharmacy, a staple of Valley life in a Canoga Park neighborhood, will soon be closing for good.(photo by Andy Holzman)

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The DeSoto Pharmacy, a staple of Valley life in a Canoga Park neighborhood, will soon be closing for good. Jared Persten enjoys a milkshake at Jerrys Soda Shoppe which has served up ice cream and sandwiches to customers inside the pharmacy for decades.(photo by Andy Holzman)

The DeSoto Pharmacy, a staple of Valley life in a Canoga Park neighborhood, will soon be closing for good. Customers enjoys a milkshake at Jerrys Soda Shoppe which has served up ice cream and sandwiches inside the pharmacy for decades.(photo by Andy Holzman)

Sara Asheghian fills prescriptions at DeSoto Pharmacyin anoga Park. The Valley landmark will soon be closing for good. (photo by Andy Holzman)



The DeSoto Pharmacy, a staple of Valley life in a Canoga Park neighborhood, will soon be closing for good.(photo by Andy Holzman)

The DeSoto Pharmacy, a staple of Valley life in a Canoga Park neighborhood, will soon be closing for good. Sophia Zahedi enjoys a milkshake at Jerrys Soda Shoppe which has served up ice cream and sandwiches to customers inside the pharmacy for decades.(photo by Andy Holzman)

Local residents Armando and Anna Garcia bellied up to the counter with a dark, marbled top and sat on two of the 12 shiny, silver pedestal-style seats covered with purple-grayish vinyl seats facing a back wall lined with 1950s art deco from the soda shop/pharmacy era.

A blue awning with multi-colored Hawaiian leis and sleek overhead lamps add to the atmosphere, while soda jerks cranked out orders.

“It’s a bummer,” Armando said.

Anna was taking it all in as they waited for their sandwiches before headed back to work.

“I’ll miss it. We come in weekly,” she said, adding they have filled prescriptions, buy lottery tickets and enjoy the occasional ice cream treat and sandwiches for nearly two decades.

Cathy Meyers and her late husband, Jerry, a pharmacist who wanted to be his own boss, bought the pharmacy at the corner of De Soto Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard in 1985.

Several factors lead to the decision to close shop, said Cathy, who will continue her part-time job as a dental hygienist.

“The lease is expiring at the end of December,” she said. “Commercial rents have become very, very expensive. Rents are unmanageable and to maintain this size business with the payroll and number of employees … all of the expenses keep increasing, but the bottom line does not.”

Customers were lured away by pharmacy industry changes, such as insurance companies requiring patients to buy from chain pharmacies or use a mail order format to fill prescriptions.

“The time is right to gracefully exit and regroup and move forward,” said her son David, 49, a co-owner.

Jerry’s Soda Shoppe features Lappert’s Cascade and Fosselman’s ice creams. Their signature chocolate dipped ice cream soda was named “Best Ice Cream Treat in California” by Food Network Magazine and featured on the Cooking Channel show, “Ice Cream Nation.”

It’s a hotspot for the film industry and has appeared in films and television shows and commercials.

The soda fountain was built after the Northridge earthquake in 1994.

“The time is right to gracefully exit and regroup and move forward.” — David Meyers, co-owner of De Soto Pharmacy

The Meyers decided it was the right time to fulfill Jerry’s dream of owning a soda fountain business.

Out went the cosmetics section and in went the fountain counter and stools designed and built by David and a contractor friend.

The family saw the writing on the wall.

“The market for cosmetics was changing. Everyone was buying their cosmetics at department stores and the Internet was coming. Buying full-time at a pharmacy was going away.”

Jerry grew up in Chicago and came to Los Angeles as a high school student.

Cathy’s South Pasadena local pharmacy had a soda fountain, so the idea wasn’t new to the Meyers, who were married for 46 years at the time of Jerry’s death in 2011.

The Meyers prided themselves on customer relationships, a pivotal aspect of the business.

They built personal relationships with their employees, some of whom have worked there for upwards of 25 years.

“Something that has been your heart and soul for 33 years is going to be precious on many levels. Customers and employees have been part of my family and it will be the hardest part of walking away and closing the doors,” Cathy said.

Jeanette Klugman enjoyed “mother-daughter” dates when she was in middle school and reminisces about those times.

“This breaks my heart. (My mom) would let me pick out whatever I wanted,” Klugman said. “I got so excited having my own choice and she didn’t limit me.”

Kim Mehmen DeBolt, a friend of the owners, said the pharmacy has been a part of her life since 1969. Her memories include the “best candy counter when we were kids and delicious ice cream.”

“Every time my cousins visited from England, they had to have a milkshake from Jerry’s,” De Bolt, 58 of Northridge, said. “I’m very sad to see it closing. (But) time marches on.”

Until De Soto Pharmacy closes its doors, the Meyers have discounted merchandise and expect to turn out the lights at 7p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 21.

But, it will live on at The Valley Relics Museum, which is relocating from Chatsworth early October to a larger site at the Van Nuys Airport on Balboa Boulevard.

The Meyers handed over their vintage neon signs that lit up the front of the store and pharmacy area to the museum’s owner, Tommy Gelinas.

Gelinas, 54, has been a frequent customer of De Soto Pharmacy since his early 20s, when he lived down the street.

He would pick up prescriptions for his parents and eventually for his children.

“Always friendly people, friendly service … quality of their business always shone through. The bonus for me was having Jerry’s Soda Shoppe there,” Gelinas said. “It’s very nostalgic for me. It’s like stepping back in time. It’s a little bit of that ‘Mayberry’ feeling. A quaint pharmacy, family driven. When I’m in the neighborhood I’ll grab a tuna sandwich, or a salad, a scoop of ice cream or a milkshake. It’s the entire experience of going into De Soto Pharmacy.”