History will soon repeat itself when the pharmacy now known as Evans Pharmacy is acquired by the granddaughter of the original proprietor in coming months.

Plans are underway for Ora and Jacob Bailey to purchase the business from Vince Evans, who has owned the pharmacy since 1994. The Baileys plan to change the name back to Beasley’s Pharmacy, which was opened by Ora Bailey’s maternal grandfather on Center Street in the 1930’s.

“It has come full circle,” Evans said this week. “I feel like I have just been the caretaker of that corner for the last 20 years.” Although selling his business is occurring a little sooner than he had expected, Evans said the decision to pass the torch was an easy one considering it is an opportunity to continue a legacy.

Evans came to Conyers in 1979 when he purchased the Walker-Warren Pharmacy, then located on the same corner one block south of his current business. That location closed in 1988 when Evans merged with Reagans Pharmacy on West Avenue. He sold his portion of that business in 1994 and purchased Beasley’s from Bill Spivey, who had worked under Ralph Beasley and took it over after Beasley passed away in 1972.

Both Evans, who has served on the Conyers City Council for 14 years, and the Jacobs have another similar interest in this unique transaction — they are excited about a young family purchasing a piece of history on Main Street. 

“I really believe in Olde Town, and I believe it needs to be revitalized,” 33-year-old Ora Bailey said. “I believe I am young and energetic enough to give it a try.” 

Bailey is grew up on Main Street and lived in Florida for eight years after graduating from Woodward Academy before returning to Georgia to study pharmacy at the University of Georgia, which is also where Evans received his pharmacy degree. Following graduation two years ago, she worked in Stockbridge at the Hudson Bridge Compounding Company but is now working at Evans in anticipation of the sale.

“I love when patients come in and tell me about my grandfather, who died before I was born,” she said of her mother Judy Mauran’s father. “He had to be the most amazing person, and I love to hear stories about him.” Though she never got the chance to work at the soda fountain her grandfather installed all those years ago, Bailey said her four young children will be working there in about 15 years.

In the meantime, Evans will continue working part-time alongside Bailey for the foreseeable future. He said he and his wife, Cyndi, who are both from Newton County and were high school sweethearts, have no major retirement plans just yet.

“I’m not sure what I am going to do with my time yet because I want to make sure it isn’t just a dream,” Evans said of the sale. “It’s a little sooner than I had planned, but there are not a lot of people out there wanting to buy pharmacies and when you have an opportunity to sell, it may not come up again. I am excited about it and I will get the best of both worlds. I won’t have to work as often, and when I do I can just be a pharmacist without having to be an owner. I have enjoyed being around people, and everyday is interesting and different. I’ve had a lot of good customers.”