Corey Boxwell wants his new drug store to be a community hub as well as a place to get medicine.

Boxwell Pharmacy opens this morning at 501 Amherst St. in Winchester. It’s in a newly remodeled building previously occupied by several chain drug stores over the years.

The new store will be one of only two independently-owned and-operated pharmacies in the Winchester area.

Boxwell said he and his staff aim to fill customers’ prescriptions fast and efficiently. But he added that he wants the pharmacy to be a place where customers feel comfortable stopping and chatting with their friends and neighbors for a few minutes.

As Winchester grows, he perceives that some of its close-knit feeling seems to be getting lost.

At Boxwell Pharmacy, customers will be provided old-fashioned service — the kind in which shopkeepers personally know those they serve and consider them friends as well as customers — in a modern setting.

In health care today, “there’s not a lot of personable interaction,” Boxwell noted.

His pharmacy is new, but Boxwell is no stranger locally.

Working in the community where he grew up, he said he’s proud to be caring for many people he’s known practically all of his life.

Still, he hopes to see both “familiar faces and new faces” at his store, he said.

People began transferring their prescriptions to the pharmacy even before it opened. Anyone who wants to transfer theirs can call 540-546-1546, or go online to boxwellpharmacy.com. Staff will handle the details.

Boxwell is a James Wood High School graduate who earned a doctorate in pharmacy from Shenandoah University.

He previously was co-owner of Rotz Pharmacy in Winchester for seven years.

After leaving Rotz, he worked from home as a private consultant to pharmacies.

“I didn’t like that,” said Boxwell. “I like being face-to-face with people.”

Boxwell Pharmacy will have six other employees, including three pharmacy technicians, two drivers making home deliveries, and a part-time pharmacist.

Customers may recognize a few other former Rotz faces behind the prescription counter with Boxwell. They include technicians Will Gray and Holly Kaiser, part-time pharmacist Janie Juergens, and delivery driver Steve Booth.

“They all applied to work here,” Boxwell said.

“Having worked with Corey before, I can’t wait to bring great customer service to the area (with him) … and be a friendly face for customers when they walk in the door,” Gray said.

Friday morning, Boxwell and his wife, Jamie, along with some of their five children and several employees, were continuing to stock the roughly 5,000-square-foot store, which has white walls and grey carpeting. He said it will be fully stocked when the doors open today.

The prescription counter has separate areas for drop-offs, pickups and patient-staff consultations. In three private rooms, customers can receive services such as flu and COVID-19 vaccines and blood pressure checks. A customer waiting area and restroom are also available.

A full line of over-the-counter medications will include name brands plus two generic ones, Quality Care and GoodSense.

The store has a compounding lab where customized medicines can be made for both people and pets. In addition, durable home medical equipment and greeting cards will be available. 

When hospital patients are released, staff can provide them discharge counseling and “medication reconciliation.” The latter involves ensuring medicines prescribed by hospital doctors don’t duplicate, or cause adverse effects, with ones prescribed by their regular doctors which they are already taking.

“We’ll make sure everything is safe and simplified for patients,” Boxwell said.

Rite-Aid, and most recently Walgreens, were among chain pharmacies that previously occupied the store’s location. Longtime residents will remember when it housed Drug Fair, a regional chain which, like Rite-Aid, no longer exists.

Carroll Construction did the remodeling for Boxwell Pharmacy. One of the firm’s employees located an old photo of Drug Fair and gave it to the store. The photo is framed and mounted on the front wall near the waiting area.

At 36, Boxwell doesn’t remember Drug Fair. Yet he’s glad to have the photo. He plans to place an exterior shot of his new store beside it.

He’s looking forward to opening the store’s doors today, so much that he predicted he wouldn’t be able to sleep on Sunday night.

What he enjoys most about being a pharmacist, he said, is taking care of people and helping them stay well.

“I get so much enjoyment and pride from making a difference in someone’s life and helping them through a difficult situation,” he said.

Boxwell Pharmacy will initially be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. If there is a demand, Saturday hours may be added eventually.