‘The time has come'

Medicine Shoppe clerk Sonny Clark helps long-time customer Ann Hogan on Tuesday. (The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson).

By Kelley Atherton

"We're worn out," said Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy's Ston Yackamouih. "We couldn't see doing it another five years."

Yackamouih and co-owner Tom Nichols are closing the Medicine Shoppe's doors for the last time today at 783 3rd St. They want to retire after 43 years in the pharmacy business.

Safeway Food and Drug has bought the Medicine Shoppe's patient files and offered jobs to its employees. Yackamouih and two others took up the offer. However, Yackamouih will only be there a short while to help with the transition, he said.

"It's a natural alliance to combine pharmacies — it makes for good business," said Safeway Store Manager Brian Ridgley about Safeway taking over Medicine Shoppe's business.

The end of an era

The landscape of pharmacies in Crescent City is changing and this seemed like a good time to retire, Nichols said.

"We wanted to go out on top instead of on bottom," he said.

There has been widespread speculation that the imminent arrival of Walgreens would cause smaller drug stores to close. However, Yackamouih and Nichols said Walgreens (slated to open in October or November) is not the reason they're shutting down.

Nichols said that a state-mandated 10 percent Medi-Cal cut for prescription drugs has had an impact on the local pharmacy. Because the Medicine Shoppe's business is mainly prescriptions and the sale of a few basic drug items, it couldn't "make it up on the front end," he said.

"The face of retail pharmacies is changing," Yackamouih said. "It's getting harder and harder for independent pharmacies."

One of the reasons people choose small pharmacies over chains is the personal connection they have with their pharmacist, Ridgley said, that's part of what Safeway is buying.

"A pharmacist is like a doctor or lawyer — people are loyal to those folks," he said. "We're purchasing customer loyalty."

However, Ridgley said it's sad when small businesses close due to larger stores dominating the market, adding there's just not enough business to go around.

"It's good to have small businesses — it's good to have choices," Ridgley said.

Going back a long way

Yackamouih and Nichols bought Enderts Drug (at the same spot as the Medicine Shoppe) in the late 1960s. Enderts Drug originated in the early 20th century on 2nd Street, but that store was destroyed by the 1964 tsunami.

About 20 years ago, the two bought a Medicine Shoppe franchise. With Walmart and Kmart opening at about the time, they felt it was best to be just a pharmacy.

"We didn't feel we could compete on the front end," Yackamouih said.

"The pharmacy has worked out great," Nichols said, because customers valued the small-town, personal touch and the fact they always saw "the same two faces."

"I hate to see it go under," Ann Hogan, a Medicine Shoppe customer since 1995, said Tuesday.

Hogan, a certified trainer for Denny's, said she goes to the Medicine Shoppe because the employees know her. "It comes down to loyalty and commitment," she said.

"I've been with Ston and Tom forever," said Ruth Long, another long-time customer. She said she'll try out Safeway's pharmacy and "see how it goes."

The Medicine Shoppe has become a familiar place to buy prescriptions and pick up a few necessities.

"I feel comfortable and confident with them," Long said. "I come in here and it feels like home."

Sonny Clark has been working as a clerk at the Medicine Shoppe for over 20 years. However, he won't be taking a job at Safeway; instead, he's retiring.

News of the closure has been a bitter pill for many customers, he said.

"They don't like it," Clark said. "When people have a habit of doing something and it's not there anymore, it's disturbing."

Yackamouih and Nichols own the property on 3rd Street and plan to put it up for sale.

Now it's time for someone else to put in a new business, that will hopefully thrive, they said. For two gentlemen who are in their "Medicare years," running a business has become physically demanding x . They want to enjoy the twilight of their lives with their families.

"We're sorry we're leaving, Nichols said, "but the time has come."