Benzer Pharmacy extends services during COVID-19 pandemic

AMENIA — At a time when many businesses are struggling to maintain a sense of normalcy, the recently minted Benzer Pharmacy in Amenia’s Freshtown Plaza is taking the opportunity to reinvent itself in the form of an old-fashioned neighborhood store.

According to both pharmacist Chris Fama and store manager Kelly Rowe, their goal is to listen to their customers and provide whatever services and merchandise they want.

Only a matter of months before the COVID-19 pandemic threw the globe into a tail spin, Benzer Pharmacy of Tampa, Fla., a small national chain of approximately 100-plus stores, began a move into the New England area and purchased what for many years had been Drug World at 5094 Route 22 — soon to be known as  Amenia Pharmacy, after the state approves the change. 

Taking advantage of Benzer’s policy to allow far-flung locations to determine what would best suit their customers, Fama said, “We’re not Los Angeles… We are trying to do whatever we need to do to become the community pharmacy with some sort of ties to the community.”

A man who says he likes people and “loves to talk,” Fama takes advantage of that quality to establish the tone of the store. In a job where he is dealing with so many personalities, he is particularly pleased when he gets to know the person behind the orders, but with social distancing and face time restrictions, that can be difficult. Still, he hopes the store will evolve into “an old-time pharmacy,” an image he values from his “early days” in the 1980s. 

“It hasn’t been easy to try to pick up some of the foot traffic,” said Fama, who has been working hard to stay within the time and distance requirements. But as the times are what they are, the start of flu season has brought in a number of customers for inoculations, which are up five times from the number last year. “It gives me a chance to talk to people. I don’t just say ‘Which arm? Roll up your sleeve. Thank you.’ I try to communicate to them that we’re here for them for more than a flu shot.”

He explained the pharmacy provides mail order prescriptions as well as home delivery for those who aren’t feeling well and “need their scrips.” 

The pharmacy has also recently become a part of Healthwell Foundation and Pan Foundation, each “help provide payment for very expensive meds that many patients don’t have the money to pay for —some costing $1,000 per tablet. It’s a tool — I can’t promise somebody — but it’s a tool that could possibly help.” 

The pharmacy has also implemented a program to help find the lowest possible drug costs and is partnering with physician groups to make prescriptions more affordable. 

Fama did recognize that after Benzer took over the business, suppliers’ contracts were not in force and as a result the store was not as well supplied as Drug World was, but added the store is now figuring out exactly what items customers miss most and restocking them. That includes the very popular Yankee Candles, which the company was not shipping, so Benzer representatives drove directly to the factory to obtain a supply. 

“We want customers, so we want to get what they want,” said Fama.

Store manager Rowe agreed that it is sometimes discouraging for customers to come in and see empty shelves due to supply problems caused by the pandemic, but she said things are improving, especially in terms of toys, jewelry, makeup and other Christmas items. 

She said customers looking for specific items can call and arrange for curbside pickup if they prefer not to enter the store, adding that Benzer always welcomes it when customers make suggestions for their inventory. 

As an alternate to online shopping, which so many have turned to during the pandemic, it’s important to remember that “local” is a critical word, as in the local economy, which aids local families, helped by local customers shopping at local businesses that help employ local workers. That local network of pharmacies in the Harlem Valley includes McCarthy’s Pharmacy in Stanfordville, Pine Plains Pharmacy and CVS pharmacies in Millerton and Dover Plains. Check with them all to see what goods and services they, like Benzer Pharmacy in Amenia, offer this holiday season and throughout the year.