Opening at the height of the pandemic, Staci Garner opened the doors to Pharmville Drug with a purpose to bring back the community drug store. Since its opening, it has grown to be so much more with folks from all over North Carolina coming to visit this unique drug store in Farmville, NC.
Garner is a native of Farmville and has enjoyed her life in the small town. She attended pharmacy school at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill before working in the pharmacy field.
Her work filled her with love and Garner enjoys working with customers and meeting their needs. Her sense of fulfillment and desire to do more for those she helped on a daily basis led her to want to open her own pharmacy.
She strived to open her own pharmacy with a community centered approach going back to the days when community drug stores were a place to aid citizens and bolster kinship.
Housed in the former Farmville Enterprise location on Main St. Garner was first tasked with taking an outdated space with drab wallcoverings and carpets and creating a unique, light, and functional home for her pharmacy.
It was no small undertaking, but Garner felt the location on Main St. provided an easily accessible location for the pharmacy as well as an ideal location for meeting their needs.
She began this transformation in Oct. 2019 and began by gutting the 2,100 square foot facility. Garner along with her crew restored the original ceilings, interior brick wall, and cement floor. The front facade and windows were also redone and the back entrance was made to be ADA compliant.
During renovations, a long-hidden skylight was discovered and uncovered. It now brightens the space along with its store front windows.
A special room for consultations was added at the rear of the building while retail space and the pharmacy occupy the rest of the structure.
In July 2020, Pharmville Drug Store opened its doors providing a welcoming home for pharmacy and prescription needs.
As a community drug store, Pharmville Drug offers more than prescription refills.Like those before it, Pharmville drugs not only refills prescriptions. It offers a more individual approach to health by offering customized advice about health and medical needs. Education and training for care are also provided for individuals as needed.
The drugstore can perform COVID and flu testing, give vaccinations, write prescriptions for birth control, give long acting injectables, blister package medications, and enroll patients in Medicare Part D programs.
It also houses a unique boutique with various gifts, T-shirts, Consuela Bags, e newton jewelry, cards, miscellaneous jewelry items, baby needs, purses, home decor, and local pottery. With a growing and revolving inventory, Pharmville Drug has become a unique place to shop for one-of-a-kind items perfect for any occasion.
A Hershey’s Ice Cream bar is also a favorite of the shop with many coming to enjoy the sweet treats including Peaden siblings Michael, 7, and Rayleigh, 9 who get to enjoy a treat each time they visit. Michael’s favorite ice cream is Superman while Rayleigh enjoys the classic orange sherbet.
“My family and I love it there. We get our prescriptions there and I shop there. The kids get ice cream everytime we go,” said mother April Cobb Peaden of Farmville.
The Miller family of Farmville also frequents Pharmville Drug and will enjoy ice cream before heading home. Garner even began stocking the Dalton Miller’s, 10, favorite flavor when she discovered it was originally missing from the inventory.
Pharmville Drug prides itself on providing a care-centered approach with the individual, not the prescription number in mind.
Its commitment to service and customers has helped it thrive and is one of the main reasons why it is such a beloved business on Main St. and has made a lasting impression on its customers like Meagan Evans of Farmville.
“Not long after Pharmville Drug first opened, one of my medications was not in stock. They went above and beyond to get the medication I needed,” Evans said.
“That made a lasting impression on me. I always love walking in and being greeted by name by the staff. The service is personal and always friendly. It is the best.”
This is also true for Kayla Walker and staff at the local elementary school H.B. Sugg and Sam D. Bundy.
“ We arranged an ice cream treat for our staff with another business in Farmville. On the date of our ice cream treat, the business could not be reached or contacted. Frantically, I walked into Pharmville Drug knowing that they sold ice cream. (Garner) and her team jumped into action and were able to save the day by providing the ice cream, cups and even ice cream scoops so that our teachers would still be able to have their ice cream treat,” Garner said.
“This is the level of support and dedication that the Pharmville Drug staff exhibits on a daily basis. We love Pharmville Drug.”
Pharmville Drug also encompasses the Farmville motto and captures the spirit of community, friendship, and welcoming atmosphere of small town America.
Garner and her staff know most if not all recurring customers by name and customers feel like family when they come to shop.
“My husband and I get our prescriptions from there. One thing I can say is I love them. They are so nice and kind. They are very polite and ver concerned about how they can help you,” said Dorothy Williams of Farmville.
“The whole staff is great. I have been in Farmville all my life and there is no other drug store I would want to go to.”
Since its opening, Pharmville Drug has grown both locally and has become known throughout North Carolina. Coupled with good service, word of mouth, customer satisfaction, and a strong social media footprint, Pharmville Drug has been able to grow and prosper.
“We’ve had people from different towns come and shop with us just from our social media and word getting out. I’ve seen customers from Raleigh,” Garner said, adding she has seen people wearing her merchandise on the coast as well.
“We are blessed to reach customers from not only Eastern North Carolina, but also in different states.”
“It makes me feel really happy. My heart and soul is in the store and I enjoy what I do there. There is always something new to look at and new to look into. It’s very exciting to know people like what you created.”
