TOWN OF TONAWANDA, NY (WKBW) — A new independent pharmacy is preparing to open in the Town of Tonawanda and it will be ready to offer residents a much-needed alternative after recent Rite Aid closures left a gap in prescription services.
Kenmore Village Pharmacy on Kenmore Avenue will soon serve the community, with owner and pharmacist Cyrus Ardalan working to fill the void left when the nearby Rite Aid at Colvin and Kenmore Avenue closed this fall.
"Rite Aid closing created a kind of an emergency," Ardalan stated.
The closure forced customers to travel elsewhere for their prescription needs, but the new pharmacy will open just blocks away from the former location.
"There's a definite shortage of pharmacy services, so it created an opportunity," remarked Ardalan.
Ardalan already operates seven pharmacies across Western New York. He's bringing on board pharmacist Joni Giallombardo, who worked at the closed Colvin and Kenmore Rite Aid for years.
"The community really needs to have some choices on where they want to go for their prescriptions," Giallombardo reflected.
The new pharmacy will operate differently from chain stores, focusing primarily on prescription services with limited retail items related to healthcare. They'll also offer delivery services and vaccinations.
"This is a family pharmacy, a community pharmacy, and it's going to be run a little bit different than the chains," Giallombardo commented. "The chains have a lot of things that they want you to do besides just dispensing prescriptions. So, we're going to make this a nice community pharmacy."
Giallombardo said the location will serve a diverse population, including many elderly customers who relied on the former Rite Aid.
"That was one of the saddest things. Those two high rises down there with the elderly population, the senior citizens, they really depended upon us," Giallombardo recalled. "So, I'm hoping here at this location, they can come down and we can help them."
Giallombardo is expected to see some of her former customers come to the new pharmacy.
"It's opening up opportunities for them not to have to go to one of the larger chain pharmacies, and we're in a really great area," Giallombardo replied.
Ardalan hopes to open the pharmacy by the end of the year.
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