At which Atlanta pharmacy was Coca-Cola first sold to the public in 1886?

Coca-Cola was first sold to the public at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta in 1886.

Pharmacist John Stith Pemberton developed the beverage in Atlanta and initially marketed it as a soda-fountain drink. The first serving was sold at Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where a glass cost five cents.

The early drink was dispensed from a soda fountain rather than from the familiar bottle. Its original marketing described it as a medicinal or invigorating beverage, reflecting the way many nineteenth-century pharmacy drinks were promoted.

Jacobs’ Pharmacy is often mixed up with Pemberton’s own workplace or laboratory. Pemberton created the formula, but Jacobs’ Pharmacy is the location associated with Coca-Cola’s first public sale. Bottling came later, after the drink had become established at soda fountains.