From salt shakers to soda fountains: Pick them up at Nau's Enfield Drug estate sale

Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
Manager and owner Laura Lebay holds up a picture of her parents taken at Nau's Enfield Drug. Her mother was pregnant with Laura when her parents purchased the 1951 drugstore from the Nau family in 1971. Almost all the store's contents go on sale this weekend.
Manager and owner Laura Lebay holds up a picture of her parents taken at Nau's Enfield Drug. Her mother was pregnant with Laura when her parents purchased the 1951 drugstore from the Nau family in 1971. Almost all the store's contents go on sale this weekend.

If you've lived in Austin longer than a few months, you likely keep close to your heart a Nau's Enfield Drug story.

A first date at the soda fountain. A chance meeting at the check-out counter. A regular lunch squeezed into one of those tight diner booths.

Now you can own a part of that Austin history.

Starting Friday and through Sunday, March 17-19 , the owners of the store on West Lynn Street, which opened in 1951, are selling almost everything on the premises, including two full soda fountains, flashy signs and unopened packets of cotton swabs. After years of uncertainty, the owners announced in 2022 that the store would close.

Old phones, calculators, cash registers and prescription boxes will be for sale Friday through Saturday at Nau's Enfield Drug.
Old phones, calculators, cash registers and prescription boxes will be for sale Friday through Saturday at Nau's Enfield Drug.

"I grew up in this store," says Laura Lebay, whose parents purchased the store and all its contents from the Nau family in 1971. "I can even say that I had been in the drugstore before I was born."

Lebay produces a photo of her parents taken in Nau's while her mother was pregnant. Nothing much has changed at this drugstore since then.

More:Nau's Enfield Drug, an Austin fixture for nearly 75 years, is closing

The photo is not for sale. Nor are the other fantastic images and letters — including a 1975 note from a neighbor, future Gov. Ann Richards — on display behind glass at the entryway.

Not just one, but two soda foundations will be sold off at Nau's Enfield Drug.
Not just one, but two soda foundations will be sold off at Nau's Enfield Drug.

Just about everything else is, including:

  • 3 wall clocks

  • 9 telephones

  • 12 staple guns and pricing guns

  • 15 electronic calculators from different ages

  • 18 paper napkin dispensers

  • Dozens of salt, pepper and sugar shakers

  • Stacks of diner-style plates, priced at $3 apiece

  • A wall menu with past offerings, such as pimento cheese sandwich for $5.50

  • Assorted shampoos, lotions and makeup

  • An ancient red Coca-Cola cooler

  • Mix-and-match holiday decor

  • An array of old cash registers

  • The iconic Nau's Drugstore neon sign

Salt, pepper and sugar shakers, along with $3 diner plates and these paper napkin dispensers can be purchased during the Nau's Enfield Drug estate sale.
Salt, pepper and sugar shakers, along with $3 diner plates and these paper napkin dispensers can be purchased during the Nau's Enfield Drug estate sale.

This weekend's estate sale at 1115 West Lynn St. is not an auction. It's first come, first served. The sale runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and then noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

"It's nice to have all these go to new homes," said Lebay, "and not go to the landfill."

This ancient Coca-Cola cooler at Nau's Enfield Drug brings back memories of hot Austin summers over the decades.
This ancient Coca-Cola cooler at Nau's Enfield Drug brings back memories of hot Austin summers over the decades.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Nau's Enfield Drug in Austin estate sale this weekend before closing