Plain Old Pearson’s, the storied liquor store on Wisconsin Avenue, is closed today because of the death of Samuel Eisenberg, who introduced discount liquor to the nation’s capital after Prohibition. Pearson’s was originally a pharmacy, but Eisenberg started a small liquor department that eventually grew and grew into what we know today.

“Doc” passed away over the weekend at age 98.

From Pearson’s obituary:

Doc loved the excitement he created. Everyone in Washington waited for Plain Old Pearson’s “One Hour One Cent Sales” and they lined up on Wisconsin and around Calvert Street to get a quart of Old Crow for a penny. One of Doc’s greatest coups was a feature in Time Magazine that reported on Pearson’s New York Stock Exchange Liquor Board which posted EVERY price of EVERY liquor brand in EVERY major store in the city.

DCist favorite part of Pearson’s lore is that President Eisenhower’s bodyguards would purchase a pint of Jack Daniels from the place before the president’s weekly poker games.