Leominster's last local pharmacy closes

The Sentinel and Enterprise led with some sad news today. Adams Pharmacy, the last locally-owned drug store in Leominster has been bought out and became a Brooks Pharmacy as of this morning:

"I just sold it out to Brooks because I'm retiring," pharmacist and store owner Allan Esper said Tuesday. "The only person leaving is me."

The store's post office branch has been closed permanently and the photo center is shut down indefinitely, but Esper, 63, said pharmacy operations will run smoothly
throughout the change.

He said the decision to sell to the major pharmacy retailer wasn't easy.

"I think it will disappoint a lot of customers," he said. "And I guess that disappoints me."

The Brooks takeover won't affect any customers' prescription orders, but Esper said the store will be drastically different.

"Independent drugstores are much more service-oriented than chains," he said. "We have a connection to the community that chains aren't really able to create. But they're doing the right thing by keeping the staff."

.....

Esper thinks ending the post office at the location is a bad idea.

"I think the biggest mistake Brooks is making is that they took out the post office," he said. "People just loved that, it brought them in. They didn't have to drive 20 minutes to go downtown. It was very convenient for them."

We used Adams Pharmacy quite a bit for our prescriptions, cards, stamps, etc. The post office branch was particularly convenient, considering the long lines that often form at the main post office downtown. Having the post office was probably great business for Esper, since it brought people into his store.

And one of the neat things about going to Adams was seeing the little hybrid car out front with the Adams logo that they used to deliver prescriptions to some of their customers. I imagine that was an invaluable service to many elderly and handicapped people in our neighborhood, and losing that convenience may be a hardship on some of those who counted on it.

Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella said he will be sad to see Adams Pharmacy change into a chain store.

"It's one of the last small, locally-owned drugstores in the area," Mazzarella said. "But (Esper) ran a great business, he worked some long hours and built up a great store. He's worked really hard and he's entitled to a happy retirement."

Brooks Pharmacy will stand out on Central Street, because it's an area that has few chain stores now, Esper said.

Looking in the Yellow Pages, there are nine pharmacies in Leominster, and now they are all owned by national chains. Once the city's signature downtown restaurant is razed to make room for a new Walgreens, we'll be 10-for-10.

Mayor Mazzarella may be sad for the loss, but having another chain store set up shop in Leominster fits well with his economic philosophy. He has tied the city's economic future to retail chains, instead of relying on local business and industry.

Esper did run a great business, and his business will be missed. It's too bad that our economic system makes it nearly impossible for businesses like his to continue to be locally owned. He described the difficulties facing a locally-owned pharmacy:

"To get started as an independent is too expensive anymore," he said. "When I got out of school, it seemed like every pharmacist was looking to own their own store. But with HMOs and insurance companies, it's getting harder. You can't get the same deal as the chains when you're working with HMOs."

The era of the corner drugstore ended yesterday in Leominster. Our city is not better for it.

Tags: Massachusetts Leominster Adams Brooks Pharmacy Development