Blogging Forgottonia

I regret to report that 12/31/2011 will be the final business day for Warren County Pharmacy in County Market.

I wondered before Warren County Pharmacy opened whether Monmouth could support four pharmacies.  I’m sad to see my suspicions born out and another locally owned & operated business close its doors.  The Gracey’s are good people, and I wish them well in the future.

Vaughn’s Jewelry and the Downtown Coffeehouse, both owned by Tom & Mary Scudder, will be closing.  Unfortunately Monmouth seems to be losing more small local businesses than it’s gaining lately.  Walgreens and Dollar General are fine, and they provide employment (albeit low wage) and tax revenue.  However, no one is going to drive to Monmouth to visit those stores, and most of the profits generated by the chains don’t stay local, either.

Monmouth has a great downtown area, with local cultural institutions like the Warren County Library and the Buchanan Center for the Arts.  I hate to see the businesses there dying off.

According to the Review Atlas, Kevin Cerar’s new restaurant, Petey’s Pub and Grill, should open in the next few weeks.  The restaurant will employ 50 to 60 people including about a dozen full time employees, which is certainly good news for Monmouth.  It’s nice to see  a new local business open up, instead of more chain stores, and I look forward to checking out the new place.

Does Monmouth really need FOUR pharmacies?

We already have Axline and Shopko in town, Brent Family Pharmacy in Oquawka and multiple pharmacies nearby in Galesburg.  The new Monmouth Walgreens is nearing completion, and just recently I noticed a sign in front of County Market proclaiming that its newly renovated store will be home to Warren County Pharmacy.

Methinks at least one of these Monmouth pharmacies will go belly-up.  You can be sure it won’t be Walgreens, the new big boy muscling in on the block.  I’m hoping that Axline’s drive-through, home delivery service and customer loyalty will save this local business.

Perhaps Axlines should look to ally itself with the County Market venture.  They certainly need to consider expanding their hours.  As a physician prescribing medications (most often by direct-to-pharmacy email prescription), I can say with absolute certainty that Axline loses a significant amount of business because they close at 6 P.M.  Right now that business usually goes to Shopko.  We’ll just have to see what happens once the new players open up.