Old-fashioned soda shop to open on Ninth Street

Milkshakes to rival Cook Out are on their way to Ninth Street.

Ox and Rabbit Soda and Sundries will open this November in the space once occupied by McDonald's Drug Store, which longtime Durham residents may remember as a place where people used to be able to hang out and sip milkshakes and soda made the old-fashioned way-with syrup and seltzer water.

"So many people kept saying such wonderful things about the McDonald's Drug Store that'd been there for so long," said Bryan Nickell, a co-owner of the new retail store. "We just thought it would be a fun idea to bring the soda fountain back, but change the drugstore part of it."

He and co-owner Erin Walker-McMullen hope people of all ages will be able to come to Ox and Rabbit and find something they like, Nickell added.

"We're trying to hit all different price ranges so that students from Duke or little kids can come in and find something small," Walker-McMullen said. "But then we'll also have things that'll be a little bit more expensive."

Nickell said the two wanted to take an old-fashioned idea and modernize it.

"We're a little younger than the other store owners on the street and our inventory will reflect that," he said. "I hope it'll speak to Duke students."

Some freshmen said they find the new option off East Campus an attractive alternative to the hustle and bustle of the Marketplace.

He added that he remembers his grandmother taking him to the Ninth Street store for special treats.

"The big deal was going into the McDonald's and getting a cherry Coke," Cable said. "That was a good drink."

Nickell said he plans to invite kids behind the counter to mix drinks just as Mrs. McDonald did for him, but added that he thinks Ox and Rabbit will have a much different atmosphere than McDonald's did.

"It's kind of a new twist on an old idea," he said. "[But] I hope people will connect to it as much as they did [with] McDonald's."

In addition to a soda fountain, Ox and Rabbit will be stocked with housewares, cards, chocolate, clothing, bath products and baby care items, Walker-McMullen said.

"The baby stuff we're going to sell is unique and hip and a little bit more funky," Nickell said. "We both want to help out artists too, so we're selling a lot of stuff [bought] directly from the artist or their representative."

Ox and Rabbit's unusual name was inspired by a song in which a group of people lose everything and have to start over, Walker-McMullen added.

"We had some personal experiences a few years ago and this is kind of like a positive starting over, in a way, for us," she said.