The Medicine Shoppe Sold to CVS

The in Decatur has sold to CVS.

All calls to the Medicine Shoppe at 215 Clairemont Ave., were referred to CVS Tuesday.

The Medicine Shoppe, which had been owned by Ramiro Cepero, was one of two independently-owned pharmacies in downtown Decatur. The other is McKinney's Apothecary on Ponce de Leon.

"For 17 years, I’ve known Ramiro and watched him and his family takeover that business and run it as a community asset," said Doug Taunton, owner of McKinney's Apothecary in Decatur. "The independent pharmacy business has really decreased over the years. Not many young pharmacists want to get into the business ... and it’s so much easier to go to work for the chains." 

Taunton said he heard of the sale to CVS recently and said it was to become final this week.

"When the Medicinne Shoppe was in business, he was looked upon as a friend and colleague rather than a competitor," Taunton said. "The relationship between us was such that if you run out of medicines, he was kind enough to let us borrow medicine and we obliged him in the same manner. It was like you borrow a cup of sugar from next door. That’s the type of relationship we had with Ramiro."

He said independent pharmacies fill a niche. 

"When someone needed an emergency call to a doctor or something extra, the small community pharmacy fills a gap there, Taunton said. "Big pharmacies don’t have the opportunity to do this. We offer delivery service, patient counseling and we get to know not only the patients, but their children, their dogs and cats. It’s a family type unit rather than a business type unit."

The Medicine Shoppe, while independently and locally operated, was part of a larger organization. Established in 1968 by St. Louis pharmacist, Michael Busch, the first franchises opened in 1971. In 1995, Cardinal Health, acquired the company. By 2003, the company acquired Medicap Pharmacies Incorporated, further expanding its reach.

Taunton said that he's been busy fielding calls from former Medicine Shoppe customers.

"I hated to see him sell out to the larger box store because Decatur loses something," Taunton said.