When the doors closed at the pharmacy on Ribaut Road in Beaufort owned by Charles Aimar in 2008, locals might not have expected it to make a comeback as a family business.
Last week, Jeremy Simmons celebrated the opening of his second pharmacy location, Beaufort Pharmacy and Compounding, with an official ribbon-cutting held by the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Simmons is a native of the Lowcountry, having grown up in the Grays area in Jasper County. He attended Thomas Heyward Academy, knowing since he was in sixth grade that he would one day become a pharmacist.
Simmons recalls going to Aimar’s Pharmacy as a child and remembers his daughter, Mrs. Rogers, teaching him in second grade. He never expected to open up his own pharmacy in the same place where Aimar served so many customers.
Beaufort Pharmacy and Compounding officially opened at 968 Ribaut Road on July 5 and within the first month has seen a steady flow of revenue.
For Simmons, it’s not about generating dollars.
“We don’t want to just be in the community. We want to be a part of the community,” Simmons said. “We can do what the big box stores can’t. Just today we’ve shown that our prices can come in cheaper than Wal-Mart. But we are also treating our patients the way they should be treated. We see them as people, not price tags or revenue like the big corporations do.”
As he looks back at how Aimar ran his pharmacy, Simmons says it’s a lot to live up to, but it’s a challenge he’s willing to take on. With a favorable reputation at his first pharmacy in Hampton, Simmons has picked up the slack left when hometown pharmacies closed up shop.
“I can see the difference we’re making in Hampton and seen what we can do. We’ve made deliveries for those who couldn’t make it to pick up their prescription. It hasn’t been easy, but we do what we can to best serve our patients,” Simmons said. “And since 2008 Beaufort hasn’t had Aimar’s Pharmacy, so there was a real need here to have a community pharmacy again.”
Mayor Billy Keyserling is proud to have another local family business restore a building and continue to serve the residents of Beaufort.
“It’s nice to hear the memories made here, but it’s nice to see buildings being reused,” Keyserling said. “We’re trying to grow the city from within. Charles Aimar served his customers well, and it’s a great day to see a community pharmacy come back here.”
For Gene Aimar, Charles Aimar’s wife, being back at the building where her husband spent a lot of his hours was a special event.
“It’s quite a pleasure to see compounding here again because that’s what Charles loved. He loved his customers and I know the boys here will do the same,” she said.
The pharmacy also sells Dippin’ Dots ice cream, snacks and drinks. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.
Simmons spoke highly of the capabilities of his Hampton location’s staff. He described how, in his absence, his employees keep the store running like a well-oiled machine.
“Dicey and Penny here do a really good job, so even when there is a relief pharmacist in, they take care of things and make sure that things are done the way I would do it,” said Simmons of his beloved employees Dicey ? and Penny?. “They know all of the customers and they keep the same customer service as when I am here.”
“Hampton is really what got it all started for me. The people supported me being a local business, and being in the Piggly Wiggly, they supported us and through that we were able to open Beaufort. We wouldn’t’ have been able to open Beaufort without the people of Hampton supporting us so much,” he said.
He went on to describe how far his Hampton employees go to serve their community. The ladies often make special deliveries on their way home from work, even driving far out of their way, to deliver much needed medicine to those who not have a way to reach the store in person.
“You see a lot of small businesses closing, even pharmacies, and we are thriving. We are doing something right and the people have supported us,” Simmons explained. “This is like my baby; this is where it all got started.”
“I love working in Hampton. I’ve worked other places, and the customers here have to be the best customers,” he said of owning a business in Hampton County. “I love being here and I hate that I am not here every day.”
Simmons went on to explain that he is currently in the process of finding a pharmacist, with strong community ties, to begin operating out of the Hampton location while he is in Beaufort three days each week. He went on to explain how important it will be for the pharmacist to have a strong sense of community and ties to the area. Simmons thinks he has just the man in mind, but cannot make any announcements at this time.
“I’m not just going to settle for anybody,” he said. “We are going to try a bunch of people out, but if it takes several months to find that person then we will just have to struggle through it, but we will get there,” he said. “It’s got to be someone that’s focused on the community.
”It’s not going to be someone that says ‘ahhh it’s six o’clock I’ve got to run out the door, sorry you can get your medicine later’. No we are going to stay here until it’s done,” he said of his future pharmacist.