Adzema Pharmacy offers doses of charm, modern care in McCandless
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You’d be out of luck searching for an egg sandwich or plate of lasagna at a typical pharmacy, save for the frozen food aisle.
Adzema Pharmacy in McCandless is different, with a lunch counter just a few steps away from a fully stocked drug store, all under one roof. It’s a bit of a throwback for an independent, family-owned pharmacy to exist at all, let alone serve breakfast and lunch — a practice that dates back to the early 20th century.
Breakfast and lunch counters served as a source of extra revenue for druggists and complemented soda fountains that were popular at the time, but by the 1970s, their decline was well underway.
According to owner Jay Adzema, his pharmacy is one of three in the region with a lunch counter, and the only one that doesn’t sublease it. Prices remain relatively low: $3.95 for a breakfast special or $4.20 for a hamburger.
But Adzema wants people to recognize his pharmacy not just for its charm, but for its level of customer service.
“I don’t want to put out an image of an old, tired, quaint, isn’t-this-nice kind of thing,” Adzema said. “We’re doing anything that any modern pharmacy can do, but in a comfortable atmosphere.”
The pharmacy boasts a mobile app and competitive prices, according to pharmacist Tom Reardon, who got his start as an intern there during pharmacy school and since worked full-time for four years.
“We do things the right way,” Reardon said, comparing Adzema Pharmacy to some chain competitors.
The industry has changed drastically since Jay Adzema’s father, Bob, opened the business in 1959 before moving right across the street to its current location in 1963.
Though he practically grew up there, even taking his naps in the office as a baby, Jay Adzema officially began work at the pharmacy in 1990. By 2000, he had taken the reins from his father, who retired to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Due to the need for an extra cook, Adzema works in the kitchen twice a week, but is a pharmacist by training.
“Jay, the owner, wherever he’s needed, he fills in,” longtime customer Nancy Reid said. “He just runs this place like a clock.”
When he has the time, he also likes to stop and chat with customers.
“I certainly go out and schmooze,” Adzema said. “Over time, that’s what I’ve grown to like to do the most.”
On a particular Thursday afternoon, one of those customers happened to be Cynthia-Dawn Zebley, a former employee.
First introduced to Adzema Pharmacy by her grandparents, Zebley started there as a cashier when she was 16. She worked at the register, in the kitchen or wherever needed into her mid-20s, and now stops by for lunch, for medications, or both, around once a week.
“It’s family,” Zebley said. “It’s a “Cheers” kind of place.”
Adzema Pharmacy has been around long enough to amass four generations of regulars, but it’s hardly a given that the pharmacy survived — and to some extent thrived — during the pandemic. Unemployment drove people to reduce their prescription use, pharmacies had to invest in protective measures, and many technicians walked away from the industry, among other woes.
In part by securing COVID-19 vaccinations and offering them to people at home, Adzema Pharmacy managed to hold on, and is now back to business as usual.
Joan Ermel, 80, worked there as a server for 36 years before retiring in November. These days, she hits the lunch counter each Thursday with a group of regulars.
“Everyone is so friendly,” Ermel said. “If you never came in here, you wouldn’t know.”
Adzema Pharmacy is located at 8105 Perry Highway, Suite 2. It’s open from 8 a.m to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays.