Caldwell’s Penny Wise Drug Store rides off into the sunset

Penny Wise Drug Store, a Caldwell institution since 1948, is going the way of the drug store soda fountain.

Penny Wise closed Nov. 18 to get ready for a going-out-of-business sale Nov. 21.

“We want to close out all the merchandise over the next six weeks, by the end of the year,” said Jim Wilson, who owns the store with his brothers , Bob and Tom. “It’s just not making any money. Times are hard.”

The Brothers Wilson had pondered shutting down over the past four months.

The move brings to a close a Treasure Valley tradition dating back to World War II, when the first Penny Wise opened in Nampa in the early 1940s. A Caldwell store followed in 1948. The existing Penny Wise has been at its Cleveland Boulevard location since the Kennedy administration, somewhere around 1961.

At one time, Penny Wise also had stores in Twin Falls and Elko, Nev. The Caldwell store was the only remaining store after Nampa closed in about 1988.

Jim Wilson described Penny Wise as an “old-fashioned drug store.” Along with the popular pharmacy, the store also had sporting goods, gift items, games, cosmetics and electronics. Penny Wise also offered utility bill payment services and sold money orders.

“Sporting goods was one of our biggest draws,” Wilson said. “The pharmacy was our biggest draw.”

The Wilsons sold the pharmacy records and merchandise to Walgreens.

The Wilson brothers bought out their father, William Wilson, about 10 years ago. William Wilson had had part ownership since the 1950s and full ownership since 1986, Jim Wilson said.

Fixtures inside the store are for sale as well as the vintage owl sign on the front of the building.  The Wilson family plans to accept the best offer for the owl sign and then donate the entire amount to the Caldwell Salvation Army.

What happens with the Wilson brothers now? Bob Wilson is already retired.

“I can draw social security,” Jim Wilson said. “I will take some time off. I’m not absolutely sure what I’ll be doing. Tom is younger than us. He’ll probably look for another job.”

The College of Idaho owns the Penny Wise building but has not decided how to fill the impending vacancy.

“The college is evaluating options with what to do going forward,” college spokesman Jordan Rodriguez said.