Ok, so... technically, the story of T & C does not start in 1991, but that’s when Greg Vaughan and his wife Teresa officially incorporated the business under new ownership. Greg had been working for Mr. Lloyd Sellers since December 1977, first at Dean’s Pharmacy, then a few months later at T & C Pharmacy (both owned by Mr. Sellers). In July 1991, Greg bought the business from Mr. Sellers. At the time, T & C was located in Delta Plaza, across the street from its current location.
No telling of this story would be complete if we didn’t mention Hurricane Opal. Anyone who lived in Opp when that storm came through will surely remember it, but T & C was impacted in a big way. Opal ripped the roof off of the pharmacy, and, when it was finally safe to go in and salvage what remained, the building had been severely flooded.
This is where resilience came in. Friends and people from the community stepped up in a crisis to do the hard work of cleaning up. T & C had to be temporarily relocated to the old B. C. Moore’s building (now a part of First Baptist Opp). Through an awful tragedy came determination and re-growth.
After Opal, Greg and Teresa decided to move into a building they could own, rather than one they were leasing. They purchased land and built an 8000+ sq. ft. building on Parish Ave., which continues to be T & C’s location to this day.
Over the course of its history, T & C has held many things inside its walls, in addition to the pharmacy. It has been a True Value and a Radio Shack. People have come to T & C to get satellite dishes and cell phones. It has been a book & gift store and a fabric store. And the list goes on! That spirit of innovation is living on in a new generation.
In 2013, Greg’s daughter Rebecca Vaughan Simmons (newly graduated from Auburn University’s School of Pharmacy) came back to work alongside him. As soon as she joined the team, Rebecca began working to increase the clinical services that the pharmacy offered, especially vaccinations.
Like many other small businesses and independent pharmacies, T & C was deeply impacted by Covid-19. Out of concern for our patients and employees, we transitioned to drive-thru-only while administering countless curbside vaccinations.
After working here for nearly a decade, Rebecca purchased the pharmacy from her dad. Along with that transition came the re-opening of the store to the public; once again, customers could come inside and shop rather than only using the drive-thru. While continuing to provide the same fast, friendly, and reliable service, we added in a section of gifts, centered around products that featured partnerships with other local small businesses like the Boll Weevil Soap Co. and Weevil Nut Co.
In October 2023, after much dreaming and planning, Rebecca pushed T & C into its next big adventure—Sprinkles at T & C. We have taken a section of our large building and transformed it into a full ice cream and candy store, as well as expanding our selection of children’s books and gifts. The goal in all of this is to continue T & C’s tradition of providing a fun place to find affordable surprises for oneself and for others. Our tagline is “Sprinkle Some Happy.” That’s exactly what we want to do, and it’s what we want to help others do!