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Wall Drug Store, Wall SD | Nearby Businesses


510 Main St
Wall, SD 57790
(605) 279-2175

1931, December. Ted and Dorothy Hustead had just bought the one and only drug store in a town called Wall. The settlers named it this because it is on the edge of the South Dakota Badlands. Needless to say, business was not booming at this point in time. The family decided to give the store five years to grow. Summer 1936, the business still had not grown much. With two children to care for times were not easy. One sweltering night after being kept awake from passing cars on Route 16A Dorothy has a personal epiphany. Her thought was that driving across the hot prairie travelers get thirsty. They want water. Ice water!! Therefore, with the Depression in full swing, they installed the billboards. It worked! Travelers WERE parched and business had never been better. The next summer the family hired eight girls to help with the busy summer crowds. (Now the Drug store draws up to twenty thousand people on a good summer day with almost one hundred employees on a given day) Free ice water brought the Hustead's a long way. This story also teaches an important lesson- there is absolutely no place on God's earth that is Godforsaken. No matter where you live, you can succeed, because wherever you are you can reach out to other people with something that they need!

Cafe Near Wall Drug Store

Wall Drug
Distance: 0.0 mi Competitive Analysis
510 Main St Wall, SD PO Box 401
Wall, SD 57790-0401
(605) 279-2175

Wall Drug Store, often called simply "Wall Drug," is a tourist attraction located in the town of Wall, South Dakota. It is a shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores. The New York Times has described Wall Drug as "a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown takes in more than $10 million a year and draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town."HistoryThe small town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931. Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere," and strove to make a living. Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, thought of advertising free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60mi to the west. From that time on business was brisk. Wall Drug grew into a cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store. Wall Drug includes a western art museum, a chapel based on the one found at New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa, and an 80ft apatosaurus (formerly brontosaurus) that can be seen right off Interstate 90. It was designed by Emmet Sullivan who also created the dinosaurs at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City and Dinosaur World in Arkansas.

Cactus Cafe and Lounge
Distance: 0.0 mi Competitive Analysis
519 Main St
Wall, SD 57790
(605) 279-2561

The Cactus Cafe & Lounge has been serving delicious food and drinks to Wall, SD since 1953. We are a family-owned and operated business that has been under new management since 2014. Our menu includes a wide variety of Mexican and American favorites, including our Indian taco, buffalo burger, chicken bacon ranch wrap, and our Thorny Macho Burger. We serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week. At the Cactus Cafe & Lounge we also have a full bar so you can enjoy a drink with friends during one of our happy hour specials, or so you can grab a drink to go with your dinner. We also offer takeout and catering services for your next special event. Cactus Cafe & Lounge -- come enjoy some of our Western hospitality!

Wall Drug South Dakota
Distance: 0.3 mi Competitive Analysis
510 Main St
Wall, SD 57790
(605) 279-2175

Wall Drug Cafe
Distance: 0.0 mi Competitive Analysis
510 Main St
Wall, SD 57790

Wall Lube & Expresso Bar
Distance: 0.3 mi Competitive Analysis
201 South Blvd W
Wall, SD 57790
(605) 279-2227

Fat Boy's Bbq & Roadtrip Cafe
Distance: 0.3 mi Competitive Analysis
203 South Blvd
Wall, SD 57790
(605) 279-2152