Downtown Augusta’s Maxwell House Pharmacy closes

June 24--Downtown Augusta's last locally owned and operated pharmacy closed Monday after 60 years.

The Maxwell House Pharmacy had been open since the 1950s in a storefront under the Maxwell House apartments on the corner of Greene and 10th streets, but a number of financial challenges have plagued the business in recent years, according to pharmacy employees and owner Bo Banks.

"I'm sad because this is the oldest independent drug store left in Augusta," said pharmacy tech and manager Becky Holbrook, who worked at the business for 13 years. "We're the only ones who completely serviced the downtown area."

One of most trying issues for the pharmacy, Holbrook said, was declining reimbursements from insurance companies. With the business relying heavily on cash purchases, Banks and Holbrook worried too, about the effect the Affordable Care Act would bring to the store's finances.

"With that coming, that will interrupt the cash flow a great deal," Holbrook said.

The pharmacy business also has changed over the years, said Banks, who owns Banks Pharmacy in Edgefield, and Banks Drugs in Ridge Spring, S.C.

Chains are gobbling up "Main Street" pharmacies and mail-order drugs are being pushed by insurance companies, he said. Although his smaller pharmacies can out-service big companies, the Augusta store didn't have the volume to make up for the loss in revenue, Banks said.

At the downtown location, Banks said his profit margin slipped to as low as 6 percent. The combination of those factors, on top of having to pay license fees and overhead costs, put the final nail in the coffin.

"It's the Wal-Mart syndrome," Banks said.

The pharmacy, which underwent three changes in ownership since it opened, made personal deliveries to customers. It carried greeting cards, snacks, $1 items, pet supplies and hard-to-find products like Father's John Medicine and 666 Cold syrup. The business employed a full-time staff of three people.

"It really is the end of a local era," Holbrook said.

Another longtime Augusta pharmacy, Hill Drug Co., closed in 2012 after the business was sold to Rite-Aid pharmacy. The pharmacy, which served the Summerville community since 1932, was located on the corner of Monte Santo and Central avenues. The building now houses a Wesley Cadle Inc. lifestyle store.

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