Issue date: October 28, 1998
By JENNIFER DESAI
Nearly 45 years to the day after opening their pharmacy on the Alameda de las Pulgas in West Menlo Park, owners Duncan and Gloria McQuarrie plan to exchange their long days at the drugstore for more leisurely pursuits.
The couple is closing McQuarrie's Pharmacy at 3549 Alameda de las Pulgas this week. They've sold their prescription list to chain drugstore Rite-Aid, and will sell their remaining stock to the chain once the doors officially close October 29.
"They've also offered jobs to all our staff," Mrs. McQuarrie said.
Employees said they were notified October 19, and a "Swan Song Newsletter" outlining the details of the pharmacy's future was distributed to patrons four days later.
The McQuarries employ 17 people in all, though many work part-time. "We employ a lot of high school students; we always have," Mrs. McQuarrie says. "We have a grandmother and her grandchild on staff part-time right now, in fact."
The news was a surprise and disappointment to customers.
"I've lived here on Avy for 20 years, and I've been coming here all along because it's an independent, neighborhood store," said one customer. "The neighborhood is really changing."
Just two months earlier, the neighborhood lost Westside Hardware store across the street, which closed after 50 years due to an impending rent increase, the owner said.
The McQuarries own the building the drugstore is in, and a cottage next door, and said they had no immediate plans for either property.
"Really, everything happened so fast, we haven't had time to advertise or talk to any Realtors," Mrs. McQuarrie said. "We certainly won't do anything gross with the property."
The McQuarries said they will also keep their stock of collectible Beanie Babies. The store was an officially designated retailer for the stuffed toys. "We don't know what we're going to do with them yet," Mrs. McQuarrie said.
The McQuarries said economics had less to do with their decision to close the store than a need for more free time. Business has increased over the years, they said.
"It's an exhausting, 12-hour day," Mr. McQuarrie said.
"We'd like to spend time with our seven grandchildren," added Mrs. McQuarrie. "We'd like to go back to Tahiti to go snorkeling, and I'd like to start taking accordion lessons."
The McQuarries have been approached many times over the years by chain stores wanting to buy their independent store, Mr. McQuarrie said. Just this past year, agents from Safeway, Long's Drugs, and Rite-Aid have made offers, he said.
A few weeks ago the lure of retirement was sweetened a bit more when Rite-Aid offered to buy the prescription list and all the stock that remains unsold.
"We've been thinking about closing since we opened," Mrs. McQuarrie said, laughing.
Originally from Canada, the McQuarries settled in Menlo Park in 1950, and opened their original store in 1953, just a few houses away from its present location. "We were there six years before we were evicted," Mrs. McQuarrie said. The couple then bought the cottage next to what is now their pharmacy for $17,000, and constructed the pharmacy for $16,000, she said.
The day after the pharmacy closes, October 30, prescription files will be transferred to Rite-Aid Pharmacy on Woodside Road in Redwood City. A new pharmacy is scheduled to open on Roosevelt Avenue within the next two weeks, and employees may relocate to either branch.
The McQuarries said they would miss their customers, but were confident that the service they'd provided their clients could be found elsewhere.
"I think it'll be good for the customers," Mrs. McQuarrie said. "The stores aren't that much farther away for most of our customers."
© 1998 The Almanac. All Rights Reserved.