Spanish Street Farmacy opens Wednesday in downtown Cape Girardeau

Spanish Street Mercantile at 34 N. Spanish St. in Cape Girardeau is welcoming the addition of an adjoining 1930s-era �farmacy,� specializing in made-from-scratch ice cream, homemade baked goods and sodas.

Charles Bertrand has owned both locations for 15 years.

Previously the location of Spanish Street Mercantile�s Ice Cream Parlor, Spanish Street Farmacy � owned and operated by newcomer Lance Green � opens at 1 p.m. today.

�This is going to be a new business. This is a new concept,� Bertrand said. �All I�m doing is renting the space to him, with his concept.�

Bertrand said Green was the only one to provide him with a �big time business plan.�

The interior of the new Spanish Street Farmacy is seen Tuesday in downtown Cape Girardeau.TYLER GRAEF

�We�ve been friends with [Bertrand] for the last five or six years. ... He�s gotten to the point where he�s wanting someone to come in and take it to the next step,� Green said.

Green also owns a small farm, Green�s Garden, in Patton, Missouri, and the 1,400-square-foot location will incorporate his family�s farm-fresh ingredients, Green said, along with locally grown elements, such as milk from a nearby dairy.

The farmacy will offer simple ice cream flavors, including a low-fat frozen yogurt and will eventually grow into offering a dairy-free sorbet or sherbet, Green said.

The location also will be focused on making local and refreshing sodas, he said. One homegrown soda flavor available is called Autumn Berry Fizz, made from a plant that grows wild within Southeast Missouri, Green said.

�We�ve already been

making some syrup,� he said. �In the old-fashioned days, they would make syrup, pump it and then fill the rest with seltzer water.�

And the antique, interior furnishings provided by Bertrand will remain in place, Green said.

�The bar is 1927 out of Essex, Missouri. The ceiling is 1896 out of Mounds, Illinois. The lights are from the 1930s, out of Illmo, Missouri,� Bertrand said.

Based on the season, Green said, the farmacy will feature food items such as pears and autumn berries, similar to items available at a farmers market.

Spanish Street Farmacy will start out �on the sweet end of the scale,� Green said, offering apple pie, pumpkin pie, pear upside-down cake and carrot cake; items that pair well with the ice cream, he said.

Green said his �rustic approach� to food preparation incorporates using whole grains when possible for a healthier product.

Spanish Street Farmacy will be open from 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632