Regardless of the time or the circumstance, people are going to have a need for their local pharmacist.
Henders Drugs, located on Fourth Street in Estevan, can vouch for that reality. They’ve been open throughout the year, making sure that they’re meeting customers’ pharmaceutical needs.
But they’ve also been busy with their other offerings inside the store.
Larry Preddy, a pharmacist who owns the business alongside Allen Miller, said they haven’t been filling as many prescriptions for colds and other ailments, but they have still been active with their regular business.
“Pharmacists are quite accessible in the healthcare field, in that you can come in and talk to us or phone and talk to us, pretty much any time you want. A lot of other medical professionals, you can’t do that,” said Preddy.
But Henders isn’t just a pharmacy. They have a myriad of health and beauty products, giftware and other items to satisfy their visitors.
“Surprisingly, we’re selling a whole pile of sandals for this year, for some reason,” said Preddy. “Our PPE (personal protective equipment), I’ve noticed that we’re selling a lot of masks. Getting supplies of disposal gloves has been a real challenge. We just got some in today, but they’ve been really stuff to get a hold of.”
He’s not sure why sandals are selling so well, other than they’re a really good product made by Oofos.
At first hand sanitizer was hard to come by, but now they have an abundance of it.
“I do notice that there’s probably not as much browsing traffic as we used to have pre-COVID. I think people are respecting the fact that you go out when necessary, and be careful,” said Preddy.
Peggy Rohatyn, who manages the storefront area, said they continue to have a lot of local shoppers. She has also seen an increase in the demand for sandals, but she noted they have had sales for the efforts of local artists.
Pickles from Auntie M’s Garden Market, birdhouses by Doug McLeod, art from local artists and other local items have sold well.
Preddy praised Rohatyn for her work in getting a lot of local artwork in the store.
“We’re trying to promote the work of local people and sell a lot of that stuff through our store,” said Preddy.
Allergy medicines are also popular at this time of year, and even though the Saskatchewan Roughriders won’t be playing this year, Rohatyn said their merchandise continues to sell.
Walkers and knee braces are among other items that can be found at Henders.
“We’ve been doing lots of deliveries to people,” said Rohatyn.
At this time, they believe it’s important to support local businesses and people as much as possible.
“I think one thing COVID has done is increase people’s awareness of the importance of local,” said Preddy. “If you don’t support local, you don’t have it. And at times like this, when travelling is hard, if you don’t have it, what are you going to do?”
The employees have done a good job of handling the challenges of the past few months. Plexiglas guards have been installed, and social distancing is a priority in the store. They ask people to use hand sanitizer when entering the business.
Henders tries to limit contact within the six-foot radius of people, while respecting customers’ needs.
And people have continued to support Henders Drugs, which they really appreciate. They have a lot of new customers, but they also have a lot of long-term clients who know they can trust Henders Drugs.
