Small, independent businesses have been under attack for years, and while some consumers staunchly support them as they are seen as a crucial part of the community, it is oftentimes not enough, and they are swallowed and replaced by huge conglomerates that have the power to decrease prices and increase perks for customers until they get their monopoly. One pharmacy in San Francisco, Central Drug Store, had managed to survive the onslaught brought by massive chains like Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid for 117 years, but now they are closing down and leaving their community bereft.
While it might seem overly sentimental to et upset about the loss of a pharmacy, after all stores come and go and get replaced all the time, it is the end of an era. Located in the same building since 1918, Central Drug Store was much more than a pharmacy for those living in the area. It was a trusted space where they could get their prescriptions, meet up with other neighbors and call for medial help when they needed to. All that, for generations.
Ownership as changed through the years, but when the Tonelli family purchased it in 1965, they brought with them a new fighting sprit which the pharmacy needed to face the new order of operations, with the aforementioned rise of large chains and mail-order services, and, a few decades after, the internet. They did this the same way that most family run businesses manage to do it, thanks to friendly and humane service that aims to connect with clients and not squeeze them for every penny they have.
The Central Drug Store pharmacy will be closing down
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Central Drug Store is closing down. Although it is expected, after all, Jerry Tonelli, who inherited the business in 1978 after the death of his father Dino, is retiring.
In a Facebook post he wrote about the change “We are a small, but mighty, pharmacy. And we are proud to say that we have outlasted Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and mail order services. I am pleased to say this is my choice and I am leaving on my own terms. It is time for all of us to start a new phase in our lives and spend more time with our families.”
This has been a long battle, and one he has succeeded in fighting for many years, as he explained to CBS “The city started letting Walgreens come into the city, and what happened then was they usually opened up next to the independent, and eventually the independent had to close.” But now it is no longer his fight, and someone else will have to either take over, or submit to the circumstances and go to these mass retailers that are also suffering from the current climate and closing down locations left and right.
Just for reference on the current situation, Rite Aid, which once operated more than 5,000 stores, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and again in 2024, with plans to close all its locations. CVS, for its part, plans to close 900 stores before the end of 2024, while Walgreens is in the process of closing 1,200, including 450 this year alone.
Customers of the Central Drug Store are expressing bittersweet sentiments about Tonelli’s retirement. On the one hand, they are praising him and his family for the service they have provided, but on the other hand, they are now left without recourse. As one customer asked “What about those without internet access, who are used to calling to order a prescription and picking it up?”