Looking Back: Grocery store at 26th and Cliff evolved into longstanding drugstore

The early 1950s was a period of hopeful optimism in Sioux Falls. World War II was behind us, and our soldiers who had returned were finding places to work, and even creating their own businesses as needed. The G.I. Bill helped by providing education and support to help our veterans get on their feet, too.

The corner of 26th and Cliff ended up being one of those boosts for veterans.

Andrew Jelsma worked at the Red Owl food store on the northwest corner of 14th and Minnesota before deciding to open a small grocery store of his own. Aiming to serve the northeast part of the city, Andy and his partners, Donald Huber and Clifford Jorgenson, moved into a new stucco block building on the northeast corner of 26th and Cliff. Andy would be general manager, while Don, who was his brother-in-law, would manage the fruits and vegetables department. Cliff handled the meat department.

They all had experience in these areas, and all were veterans of the war. The store was called Andy’s Super-Valu. Super-Valu was a wholesaler of food based in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Looking Back:Enormous 1929 warehouse significant in Sioux Falls

By 1956, business was good enough that a larger store was needed. Andy built a new food store at 1025 S. Cleveland Avenue. When Andy’s Super-Valu moved out of this original store, Charles Van De Walle opened an additional pharmacy there. Van De Walle Pharmacy, at 513 S. Main Ave., had a number of good in-house pharmacists. One of them, Robert Vander Aarde, showed enough drive and ambition to spearhead the new business.

Vander Aarde had purchased interest in the company, which helped enable the expansion. The new store was called Bel-Aire Drugs. It was the right-sized building for what drugstores offered at the time: some cosmetics, basic food items, medical needs and eventually a liquor department with a good selection of domestic and import needs.

In 1963, Van De Walle Pharmacy closed, moving all of its business to Bel-Aire Drugs. Charles Van De Walle and Frank Fogel from the downtown store provided aid to Vander Aarde’s pharmacy duties.

In 1965, Frank Fogel bought Bob Vander Aarde’s interest in the company. Bob had moved to Rosemount, Minn., and had opened a new pharmacy there and another in Farmington, Minn.

In 1973, Mike Nothdurft started his pharmacy apprenticeship at Bel-Aire Drugs. A year later, a remodel of every department improved the lighting and presentation of the products. The cosmetics department was enlarged to reflect growing interest in a diverse product line. In 1974, Nothdurft signed on as a full-time pharmacist. Four years later, Nothdurft bought into the business. Charles Van De Walle had sold his interest an moved on.

Looking Back:After slow start, Northlander became a Sioux Falls hot spot

Through the years, there had been room for many a small drugstore in Sioux Falls, but as time marched on, more and larger chains with greater buying power were forcing the smaller businesses out. Walmart, Hy-Vee, Kmart and Shopko were big enough players in the game, but in 1998, Walgreens returned to Sioux Falls after a 10-year absence, planning at least two new stores. Their national buying power was too much for the smaller pharmacies that could provide more personalized service.

Bel-Aire Drugs closed after Christmas 2000. Virtually all mom-and-pop drugstores still in town in the late 1990s closed after Walgreens returned to town. The personal touch once afforded to the customers of the little drugstores is not something that the large chains are able to match. The prices may be better, but what is lost?

Eric Renshaw of Sioux Falls has written the book "Forgotten Sioux Falls" and gives a historical perspective on his website GreetingsFromSiouxFalls.com.