Check out the Newly Renovated Pharmacy!
Joe Serio had only recently sold his store in Boston when he found himself working at Westminster Pharmacy back in 1989. He knew that a local pharmacy was about building relationships, and the transient population of a city shop just didn’t mesh with Joe’s personality. Soon after leaving Boston, he found himself working as a per diem pharmacist in Barre, Rutland and Westminster—all country-style pharmacies. One day, while working at Westminster Pharmacy he overheard that the pending sale of the store had fallen through. Owner Norm Paradise was looking for a buyer and within three months Joe Serio and his brothers were the proud owners of Westminster Pharmacy. Store Manager Dale Swedberg provided a wonderful transition for the Serio Brothers, as they were moving to Westminster and blending into the community.
Westminster Pharmacy founder John Savage owned the store for 20 years, then Norm Paradise ran it for 20 years. Joe Serio has also now owned the store for 20 years, but has no intention of retiring. One thing Joe likes is the ability to get to know his customers personally. The hallmark of a small town is the ability to provide more for local residents because you understand your community. Building up relationships doesn’t happen overnight. Two years ago Joe Serio purchased the Poikonen Farm on North Common Road. Now Joe is not only a resident, a merchant and a homeowner, but he is also a gentleman farmer.
A significant part of the business is the wine shop and the Natural Health store, but the main focus is the “Compounding Pharmacy”. Compounding pharmacies are very rare –in general. Other than Westminster Pharmacy, there are Compounding Pharmacies in Worcester, Acton, and Keene, NH. Pharmacists at these locations and select locations throughout the country are specially trained in custom formulations; much in the spirit of an Apothecary’s function, 100 years ago. An example of a benefit of being a compounding pharmacist is that if a child could benefit from a specific medicine that was designed for adults, a compounding pharmacist can create a child-sized dose. Westminster Pharmacy also makes medicines for dogs, cats and horses with compounds not commercially available.
A service Westminster Pharmacy offers that isn’t often the case with national chains is that Joe and his staff will take the time to call doctors’ offices to work with them to substitute generic or similar prescription drugs that aren’t in the highest tier (most expensive) yet perform with equal efficacy, saving customers money. The pharmacy has always had an emphasis on natural health, and working with customers and their doctors to diminish the need for medicines; and Joe stresses the importance of giving people information to make proactive decisions about their own health.
In 1989 Joe modernized the pharmacy and now, after 20 years, he has remodeled again--the peanut machine is in its original location and the store has more of a country store feel. Wine, which was more randomly placed before, is now sorted by country, and the store has an expanded walk-in beer cooler, new floors, a new roof and general improvements made to coincide with the 250th Anniversary of the Town of Westminster. The renovated store has lower display shelves, allowing people to see across the entire store. It’s interesting to note that these renovations were made while the store was operational, over the course of two weekends, in order to provide continuous operations to the community.
We are a family-owned and operated pharmacy and general store located in the central Massachusetts town of Westminster. Westminster is a rural and historic place with close-knit neighborhoods in a country setting. We established our web site, www.naturaldrugstore.com to extend our small town values, expertise and service to the community online. It is our goal to provide customers with quality information, natural products, and the highest possible level of service.