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On the Sidelines: Toomer's Makes Big Squeeze

Morgan Thacker / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR
Morgan Thacker / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Toomer's Drugstore, on the historic corner of College Street and Magnolia Avenue, radiates with the smell of fresh lemons.

On the day of an Auburn football game, Toomer's squeezes out more than 4,800 fresh lemons to create its famous Toomer's lemonade.

The fresh-squeezed lemonade was made known worldwide in 2001, when Toomer's lemonade achieved a No. 1 ranking in the men's magazine Esquire's "162 Reasons It's Good to be an American" article.

"We probably sell up to a thousand lemonades during a gameday," said Rebekah Corn, an employee of Toomer's. "And that is not including people that come in to buy merchandise."

Toomer's squeezes up to 50 gallons worth of juice and one lemon produces eight ounces of usable juice.

"We squeeze (lemons) all week up until the gameday," Corn said.

On a normal day, five boxes of lemons are used to make the sufficient amount of lemonade for the day.

There are roughly 120 lemons in one box.

That means 600 lemons are used daily to make enough lemonade to satisfy customers' thirst for the uniquely Auburn drink.

"I think we see approximately 4,000 people during a gameday," said Michael Overstreet, manager of Toomer's.

When people aren't buying their lemonade, ice cream is Toomer's No. 1 seller.

They also sell a lot of the All Auburn, All Orange and Toomer's T-shirts.

"Working at Toomer's on gameday is really exciting because you get to interact with the opposing teams' fans," Corn said. "I get to see the differences in each of them. I can remember last year, the LSU fans were some of the rudest I've worked with, but this year the West Virginia fans were some of the nicest I've met."

On gameday Toomer's drugstore is a main attraction for visitors looking to quench their thirst and see a piece of Auburn history.

"Toomer's lemonade is possibly one of favorite Auburn traditions," said Parker Whiter, a senior in accounting. "I got a lemonade last weekend and it is the perfect way to quench your thirst on a hot day. The squeeze the juice right in front of you and there is no doubt the juice is fresh squeezed by the way it tastes."

The drug store opened in the late 19th Century and is still in business at its original location.

Toomer's gameday hours depend on the football game and what time of day the game starts.

The past four weeks with the night games, Toomer's has closed at kickoff and opened back up at 8 p.m.

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For day games, the store closes at kickoff and opens back up sometime during the third quarter.

"We usually stay open until business dies down," Corn said. "We don't set hours for closing on gamedays because we see so many customers."

Overstreet said Toomer's is one of the best places to be on campus during a football game.

"Being at the store during a gameday is like tailgating all day," Overstreet said.


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