East Bay getting pharmacy

Less than a week after a longtime downtown Charleston pharmacy filled its last prescription and closed its doors, another independently owned drugstore said this week that it will expand to East Bay Street.

Moncks Corner-based Delta Pharmacy & Medical Supply, a family-owned business since 1935, will open its fourth drugstore in June, co-owner Willis High said.

"We just figured that downtown needs an independent pharmacy with local personalized service that can compete with Wal-Mart for prices," High said.

Delta's future location is 320 East Bay, not far from the Harris Teeter supermarket. The company operates other pharmacies in Moncks Corner, Eutawville and Elloree.

"We went on East Bay because there is a lot of off-street parking," High said. "We looked at several other places downtown, but this is the only one that didn't have parking meters."

The new 1,400-square-foot store is expected to open by June 15. It will employ two pharmacists and two technicians.

The third-generation drugstore will offer over-the-counter medicines and vitamins as well as prescription pharmaceuticals. In addition, it will offer delivery and low-cost generic drugs.

Last Friday, downtown Charleston lost Prescription Center after 57 years of service on Rutledge Avenue.

Prescription Center owner and head pharmacist Mel Rauton attributed the drugstore's demise not to a fall in customers, but to insurers cutting back on the amounts they reimburse for prescription drug sales.

Rauton plans to reopen as Palmetto Custom Compounding, which will offer pharmaceutical concoctions that bigger drug companies don't find profitable to produce, he said.

Delta is not experiencing the same problems encountered by Prescription Center because it buys in bulk so it can sell for less, High said.

"It comes down to volume," he said. "We do a significant amount of volume and can offer good prices."

Delta's smallest store will be in its most densely populated service area, so High sees it as a win-win situation, he said has no qualms about opening a new retail business in a sick economy.

"We have been more profitable every year," he said.

Reach Warren Wise at 937-5524 or wwise@postandcourier.com.