Katz Drug Store

Katz Drug Store was a regional pharmacy and general drugstore chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Ike and Mike Katz in 1914. The business opened two stores at the outset and developed around a low-cost retail proposition. It expanded substantially across the Midwestern United States, eventually operating approximately 65 stores in five states and employing more than 3,000 people at its peak. In addition to prescription and nonprescription medicines, Katz stores sold health, beauty, and everyday drugstore merchandise, and some locations operated lunch counters. The chain is also remembered for its role in the history of American civil rights. Katz locations enforced local segregation practices, and Black customers could be refused service at lunch counters. In 1948, Edna Griffin and members of her family were denied service at a Katz store in Des Moines, Iowa. Griffin challenged the discrimination, and the resulting legal and community campaign contributed to a 1949 Iowa Supreme Court ruling that found Katz had violated the state's civil-rights law. The Des Moines building associated with the episode was later renamed the Edna Griffin Building. A second major episode occurred on August 19, 1958, at a Katz Drug Store lunch counter in Oklahoma City. A group of Black schoolchildren, accompanied by their teacher, conducted a sit-in after being refused service. They remained at the counter while demanding an end to racial segregation in eating places. The action became one of the early student-led sit-ins of the modern civil-rights movement and helped stimulate a broader Oklahoma City protest campaign that continued for years. Katz's commercial model later came under pressure as self-service drugstore formats and larger, more modern chain operations gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The company sold itself to Skaggs Drug Centers in 1971. Skaggs subsequently became part of the corporate succession that included Osco Drug and, ultimately, CVS Pharmacy. Katz Drug Store no longer operates as an independent chain, but its history remains relevant both to the development of Midwestern drug retailing and to the civil-rights movement's use of sit-ins and litigation against segregated public accommodations.

Katz Drug Store began in 1914 when brothers Ike Katz and Mike Katz opened two drugstores in Kansas City, Missouri. The chain's early identity centered on low prices and accessible retailing. Rather than positioning itself solely as a traditional prescription pharmacy, Katz developed the broader merchandise mix associated with American drugstores, including medicines, health and beauty goods, and other everyday products. The company expanded across the Midwest and eventually reached approximately 65 stores in five states. At its height, Katz was a substantial regional employer and retailer, with more than 3,000 employees. The chain's scale reflected the growth of American urban and suburban drugstore retailing during the twentieth century. Some Katz stores included lunch counters, which made them public-facing commercial spaces as well as places to purchase medicines and personal-care products. The company's history is inseparable from racial segregation and the civil-rights challenges directed at its lunch counters. Katz stores followed local segregation practices, and nonwhite customers could be refused service. In 1948, Edna Griffin and her family were denied service at a Katz location in Des Moines, Iowa. Griffin pursued protests and legal remedies, and in 1949 the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Katz had violated Iowa's civil-rights law. The building associated with the Des Moines episode was later named the Edna Griffin Building in recognition of her role. On August 19, 1958, Black schoolchildren and their teacher staged a sit-in at a Katz Drug Store lunch counter in Oklahoma City. They sat at the counter, requested service, and refused to leave when they were denied service. The action became an important early example of student participation in the sit-in movement. It helped inspire a wider Oklahoma City campaign against segregation in eating places, a movement that continued for years and formed part of the broader civil-rights struggle that spread across the United States. Katz later encountered a changing retail environment. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, self-service drugstore chains and increasingly standardized modern retail formats became more competitive. Katz lost market share as these models gained popularity. In 1971, the company sold itself to Skaggs Drug Centers. Skaggs later became part of a corporate succession involving Osco Drug and, eventually, CVS Pharmacy. The Katz name therefore disappeared as an independent operating chain, although its commercial history survived through accounts of Midwestern pharmacy retailing and its civil-rights legacy.

• 1971

  Sale to Skaggs Drug Centers

  [1]Katz Drug Storeen.wikipedia.org

  Katz sells itself to Skaggs Drug Centers amid growing competition from self-service drugstore chains.

• 1958

  Oklahoma City sit-in

  [1]Katz Drug Storeen.wikipedia.org

  Black schoolchildren and their teacher stage a sit-in at a Katz lunch counter on August 19, helping initiate a sustained local protest movement.

• 1949

  Iowa Supreme Court civil-rights ruling

  [1]Katz Drug Storeen.wikipedia.org

  The Iowa Supreme Court finds that Katz violated the state's civil-rights law in the Des Moines case.

• 1948

  Edna Griffin contests lunch-counter discrimination

  [1]Katz Drug Storeen.wikipedia.org

  Edna Griffin and her family are refused service at a Katz store in Des Moines, Iowa, prompting protests and legal action.

• 1914

  Katz Drug Store is founded

  [1]Katz Drug Storeen.wikipedia.org

  Brothers Ike and Mike Katz open two drugstores in Kansas City, Missouri, establishing the chain.

A regional, low-cost pharmacy and drugstore chain serving Midwestern communities.

• Pharmacy

  Prescription medicines

  Prescription medicines formed a core part of Katz Drug Store's pharmacy business. The chain operated as a regional drugstore network rather than as a specialist medical provider, combining prescription dispensing with broader retail merchandise.

• Healthcare products

  Over-the-counter medicines

  Katz stores sold nonprescription medicines and common health products typical of American drugstores. These items supported the chain's low-cost, convenient retail proposition and broadened its customer base beyond prescription purchasers.

• Personal care

  Health and beauty merchandise

  The chain's general drugstore assortment included health, beauty, and personal-care products. Such merchandise was part of the broader product mix that allowed Katz to function as a one-stop neighborhood retailer.

• Food service

  Lunch-counter service

  Some Katz locations operated lunch counters. These facilities became historically significant because discriminatory service practices there generated civil-rights litigation and sit-ins, including the Edna Griffin case and the 1958 Oklahoma City protest.

• 1958

  Oklahoma City lunch-counter sit-in

  Black schoolchildren and their teacher protested segregation by occupying seats at a Katz lunch counter and refusing to leave without service. The action helped trigger a wider Oklahoma City sit-in movement.

  Source

• 1948

  Des Moines lunch-counter discrimination

  Edna Griffin and her family were denied service at a Katz Drug Store in Des Moines, Iowa. The incident produced protests and litigation and became an important civil-rights case involving a commercial lunch counter.

  Source

Read more

• 1971

  Sale to Skaggs Drug CentersM&A

  Background

  Katz faced declining market share as self-service drugstore chains and newer retail formats became more popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

  Action taken

  The company sold itself to Skaggs Drug Centers.

  Aftermath

  Katz ceased to operate as an independent chain. Skaggs later became part of a corporate succession involving Osco Drug and ultimately CVS Pharmacy.

  Source

• 1971

  Katz sells its chain to Skaggs Drug Centers[1]Katz Drug Storeen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Katz Drug Store was sold to Skaggs Drug Centers as the chain faced increasing competitive pressure from self-service drugstores and larger retail formats.

1. 1Katz Drug Storeen.wikipedia.org