Danhauer’s Drugs, a staple in downtown Owensboro for more than 120 years, is being sold to a New York-based buyer who plans to keep its legacy intact.
Owner Jeff Danhauer confirmed the pharmacy at 4th and Frederica streets is being purchased by Saibabu Appalaneni, who operates a chain of independent pharmacies with his brother. Danhauer said the move ensures the business will continue serving patients while adapting to the challenges of the modern healthcare industry.
“My granddad bought an existing struggling pharmacy in 1904,” Danhauer said. “He went through the Spanish flu, the Depression, World War I, and World War II, and continued to keep the doors open. Since then, three generations of our family have run it with the same dedication.”
Danhauer joined his father in 1981 after finishing pharmacy school, continuing a lineage that started with his grandfather and later included his uncle James. He said their longevity came from putting patients first, whether by staying open 365 days a year or making sure a child could get medicine on Christmas Day.
“Just listening to the patient and being dedicated to the patient, that’s what’s kept us here,” Danhauer said. “We’ve always tried to go the extra mile.”
Over the years, Danhauer’s became more than a pharmacy, with a gift section and even a series of humorous radio ads featuring local actress Goldie Payne.
“Half of it was scripted, but the other half was just ad-lib,” Danhauer said. “It was advertising, but it was entertaining too.”
Danhauer said Appalaneni shares the same patient-first philosophy and will maintain services like delivery. The name will remain unchanged, and Danhauer himself will stay on part-time.
“It’s comforting to know the patients are going to continue to be taken care of,” he said. “Nothing’s really changing. Who signs the check is basically the only thing that’s changing.”
Danhauer noted the pharmacy’s downtown location has been key to its success since his grandfather chose Frederica Street over the courthouse square. Despite downturns in the 1960s and ’70s, he said they believed in downtown and its potential — a bet that has paid off as the area continues to be a vital part of town.
“We believed in downtown when others doubted it,” Danhauer said. “And it’s rewarding to see it survive and thrive.”
