EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – When Rite Aid closed its doors in the village last year, it meant the closest pharmacy available to residents was at least 10 miles away.
Elite Pharmacy, a locally owned, independent pharmacy, hopes to remedy that when it opens Oct. 1.
Jake Sweet, co-owner of the pharmacy, said someone alerted him about the Rite Aid closing, and that led to a conversation with village officials about the need.
Village Manager Antonio Diaz-Guy said there is no one with the specific role of drawing specific businesses to East Palestine, but when it came to finding a new pharmacy, it was a communitywide effort and led to a fair amount of interest.
“Elite Pharmacy was really the people who stepped in and said, ‘Hey, we want to do this because it makes business sense and we want to help the community,’” Diaz-Guy said.
An East Palestine location made sense to Sweet and his business partner, Dan Jones.
“We did some research, and the closest pharmacy until we came to town was 10.2 miles away … and that 10 miles is like 10 windy, hilly, super-long miles,” Sweet said.
He said he and Jones have made it a mission not to allow the small, independent pharmacy model to die, and the East Palestine community has been welcoming and supportive.
“I think last year, we lost 300, almost one a day,” Sweet said of the industry. “And the chains are starting to feel the pressures, too, of the insurance companies.”
According to a study by the University of Southern California and University of California Berkeley, about 1 in 3 pharmacies closed between 2010 and 2024, with the majority happening toward the latter half of that time period.
For residents in East Palestine, becoming a pharmacy dessert left them with many concerns.
“For some people, even if it’s inconvenient, driving to the pharmacy is not that big of a deal,” Diaz-Guy said. “But what if you don’t have a driver’s license? There’s no other way than hiring someone to do it for you to overcome that, or get it mailed.”
With a growing elderly population, some may be able to order their regular pharmacy items and prescriptions online and have them mailed, but what about emergency items or prescriptions needed because of an illness?
“Because if you are sick, you shouldn’t be driving to the drugstore – that’s a big fear,” said Barb Kliner, who leads EPGO, a community-based group supporting East Palestine’s aging residents. “And then you throw in slippery roads, and they’re ready for [Elite] to open up and see what they have.”
Kliner said at EPGO events, many have expressed concerns to her since Rite Aid closed. The chain store was known to be cooperative with the older residents, she said, working with them to get discounts. She said people are concerned whether the new pharmacy will be as helpful, have all the things they need or accept all their insurances.
Sweet said when it opens, Elite will offer a wide range of over-the-counter items; vaccines for common viruses and illnesses such as Covid, influenza, pneumonia and shingles; and compounding drugs sent from Elite’s Canfield location.
Elite will offer free delivery for residents, whether they are elderly or just feeling too ill to drive. And Sweet said a drive-thru window is being installed in the building.
Sweet said the renovation is on track, and the owners of the building, Karen and Rick Gorby, have done a phenomenal job transforming the building at 49 E. Taggart St. from its longtime use as an Ianozone’s pizza shop to a pharmacy storefront. The installation of wood cabinets and shelving was being completed, and painters are set to arrive this week. Those shelves will start filling up in the next couple weeks. Sweet said he hopes to fill them with the basic pharmacy items people need, as well as some locally sourced items such as handmade candles, soaps or honey.
He also is hoping to find a local pharmacist to take the reins at the location and said they have found a local technician already. Sweet is from the Garrettsville area and often works at the store in that village himself. He and Jones want to staff their locations with people from the local community.
“They’re invested,” Sweet said. “They live there, work there, play there. We want them to be the face of the company, per se.”
Before the store opens, Sweet is encouraging residents to fill out transfer sheets on paper and bring them to the store, or fill them out on the company’s website. That way, when the store opens in October, their prescriptions will be forwarded there.
“The main thing that made our decision is that East Palestine is just good, hard-working people, just trying to get by. … It reminds me a lot of my hometown,” Sweet said.
Diaz-Guy said Elite Pharmacy has already become part of the community, participating in the village’s 150th celebration earlier this summer and setting up a tent at a recent football game to meet members of the community, answer questions and hand out transfer forms.
“To have a pharmacy be one of the first businesses to actually open their doors, for it to be such a critical business and to meet a need of the community, it can’t be overstated,” Diaz-Guy said. “We’re happy they’re here, but we’re ecstatic to help them stay here.”
Pictured at top: Elite Pharmacy is located at 49 E. Taggart St., East Palestine.