Lakeside Pharmacy Owner to Sell Space, Close at Lake Anne Plaza

Lakeside Pharmacy, the last original business at historic Lake Anne Plaza, is under contract to sell. If the deal closes, the business will likely close this spring, a real estate source said.

The old-fashioned pharmacy that features a lunch counter and a post office has been on and off the market for more than five years. The buyers are investors who plan to lease the space to a retail tenant. It is unlikely it would return as an independent pharmacy because there are very few of those still in business.

Lakeside Pharmacy has been owned by Larry Cohn for more than 40 years. It is a place to get a prescription filled, but also a place to pick up various sundries — some of which shoppers cannot find at a chain store such as Target or CVS.

“I’ve always wanted it to stay like this,” Cohn said in a 2010 interview. “It’s not going to happen today.”

The pharmacy has housed a number of food service operations over the last several years. It is currently Cafe Lakeside, which serves lunch counter favorites such as ice cream and burgers.

The asking price started at close to $1 million five years ago, then was dropped to $695,000 and eventually was taken off the market. It was not currently for sale when the current offer was made, the real estate source said. The sales price will not be known until the deal closes.

The waterfront space that houses Lakeside Pharmacy is not slated for redevelopment as part of Lake Anne Development Partners’ (Republic Development) plan for the area.

Because the pharmacy is in the historic part of Lake Anne, it cannot undergo big changes. Nearby areas such as the current parking lot at Lake Anne Plaza, a grove of trees owned by Reston Association and Crescent Apartments are included in the plan, which includes 60,000 square feet of new retail space, up to 82,500 square feet of office space, and 1,037 residential units.