Independent pharmacy set to close after more than 70 years in downtown Bellefonte
An independent pharmacy that’s been a mainstay in downtown Bellefonte for more than seven decades is set to close Monday, the latest in a line of local drugstores that have shuttered.
Plumb’s Drug Store, 105 N. Allegheny St., plans to close its pharmacy Monday, co-owners John and Margie Luckovich wrote in a Facebook post. Prescriptions are set to be transferred to CVS, 127 S. Potter St.
CVS, one of the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, bought the business and plans to operate under one roof across Spring Creek, John Luckovich said. The retail side of Plumb’s is expected to remain open for “a short period of time” to sell any remaining merchandise.
The Luckovichs aren’t blind to the challenges that have plagued hundreds and hundreds of independent pharmacies throughout the country, but that didn’t make the decision much easier.
Plumb’s opened in 1951, the same year Congress passed a law that established a distinction between prescription and non-prescription drugs.
John Luckovich sat back in his chair when he thought about what it could feel like to wake up the morning after the pharmacy closes. That mid-April sunrise could bring a sense of relief.
“No more worry on the day-to-day operations of being a small business owner in an economic environment that nobody knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “I always worry where I’m going to keep getting enough to make payroll, pay my drug bill for my wholesalers. If there was a pot of gold at the other end and I didn’t have to worry about that, no problem.”
‘The bottom line’
Plumb’s seems like a throwback to a simpler time. The pharmacy still runs an old-fashioned soda counter and sells everything from nuts to watches to cologne to stuffed animals to candy and health care products.
About 14 people are employed at the business. Some are Bellefonte Area High School students working their first job while others are retirees looking to stay busy.
But the independent drugstore — one of the few left in Centre County — has teetered between nostalgia and extinction because of low reimbursements.
“The short answer and probably the most honest answer would be (the) government,” Luckovich said. “... Everything is going up except they’re not reimbursing us. If you asked any independent pharmacy, you’ll get the same answer. I guarantee you. The reimbursements are the things that are the hardest in this industry. That’s the bottom line.”
Parrish Apothecary Shop in Bellefonte, Moshannon Valley Pharmacy’s drugstore in Snow Shoe and Penns Valley Pharmacy all closed in the past 3 1/2 years. Two of the three said low reimbursements were part of the reason why.
Independently-owned pharmacies in micropolitan areas likes Centre County decreased by 9.1% from 2003 through 2021, according to the University of Iowa’s Rural Policy Research Institute. The number of chain pharmacies increased across every classification.
“Just can’t afford it anymore,” he said. “Can’t afford not to make any money.”
Generations of customers, employees
John Luckovich, a 73-year-old Bellefonte native, gave much of his life to the pharmacy.
He worked for the pharmacy’s original owner — Edward L. Plumb Jr. — while he was in high school. He graduated from the same pharmacy school as his boss and returned to work at Plumb’s as a pharmacist in 1974.
He bought the business in 2012 after the death of longtime owner Eugene D. Sebastianelli. That trio — Plumb, Sebastianelli and the Luckovichs — are the only owners the 72-year-old business has ever known.
About four generations of families have passed through Plumb’s doors just in the time that Luckovich has worked there. He established a personal relationship with many of them, adding they’ve been “like family over the years.”
Some customers pontificated Monday about parking downtown — whether it should be free to attract more business — while others waited in line with handfuls of candy bars.
Others walked up to Luckovich without so much as a “Hello” before asking why the business is closing. He answered without hesitation.
“It’s going to be very, very sad when there’s nothing in here,” Luckovich said. “Just couldn’t keep doing it.”
Luckovich isn’t certain what he’ll do with himself once the business closes. He’s in good health, but doesn’t have any grandiose plans of globetrotting or even sitting in a rocking chair most of the day.
A time for reflecting may be the offing, however, for all of the people Plumb’s helped and the memories they made along the way. Tears welled in Luckovich’s eyes when he recounted the phone calls he’d get at 2 a.m. that dragged him out of bed.
He also spoke glowingly about his high school sweetheart, the same woman he’s been married to for 51 years. She has “put up with a bunch of crap all these years,” Luckovich said.
He’s missed myriad dinners and family gatherings, all in the name of keeping Plumb’s afloat. And even after several decades of punching the clock, Luckovich isn’t ready to give it up.
“Hopefully stay in the Bellefonte area and continue working as a pharmacist,” Luckovich said of his future plans. “I guess that’s the best we can do.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2023 at 7:51 AM.