Glen Ellyn pharmacy latest casualty of economy
Craig Mandel filled his last prescription Wednesday as owner of the 18-year-old Craig's Pharmacy in downtown Glen Ellyn.
The pharmacy will close its doors Aug. 31 because of a decline in foot traffic. It will be the first time in more than eight decades that the building at 401 N. Main won't have drugstore.
"We hate to leave the corner drugstore empty, but that's just the way business is," Mandel said.
Mandel says his business wasn't immune to the difficulties independent pharmacies across the nation are facing. So Mandel has accepted a new job at the Baker Hill Shopping Center Dominick's pharmacy.
And his loyal customers will be right behind him.
Polly Buell -- Mandel's first customer when he set up shop in the late 1970s -- said she likes Mandel's knowledge and commitment to customer service.
"I understand the economy, and I will go along with him," the 93-year-old Glen Ellyn resident said. "But I will miss the personal relationship of going into the store."
Buell said big corporations have taken over, making it difficult for small downtowns to keep up.
"Being an old Glen Ellyn-ite, I'm going to miss the fact that a drugstore cannot survive in a town of 27,000 people," she said.
Dick Geiersbach is sorry to see Craig's Pharmacy go.
"You've got several empty stores down here," the Glen Ellyn resident said. "So it leaves a void."
Other businesses that have left downtown Glen Ellyn in the past several months include Big Kernel & More, Florae, P.S. Flowers, Pacific Blue, Karen's Corner, Butterfly Girls and The Firkin & Fox.
Mandel said high insurance costs, low reimbursement and the mail-order business put his family-friendly business a couple steps behind. Now, he said, is the perfect time for him to move on in his career.
However, he, too, thinks Glen Ellyn residents should put more effort into reviving downtown.
"The people of Glen Ellyn have to reclaim their downtown," Mandel said. "People that live here need to do a little extra to support the town."