The many senior citizens who patronize the Kaimuki pharmacy are welcomed with friendly recognition
By Jackie Young
Special to the Star-Bulletin
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The refrain from the “Cheers” TV show from the ’80s and ’90s comes to mind when you enter the Pillbox Pharmacy in Kaimuki: “Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came …”
Half of the store’s more than 6,000 customers are seniors, and most are greeted with friendly recognition.
Packed to the ceiling with medicines of every sort, the family-run store also stocks Hawaiian-themed key chains and pens, greeting cards, local-style slippers, “Hang Loose” stickers, nail polish, hardware, gift items, puzzles, hospital supplies, snacks - and yes, it even serves ice cream, just like the old days!
It even offers senior-friendly “extras,” such as mailing prescriptions for just $2.50 (the cost of the mailer and postage) for those not able to come in person, or even delivery to your door, if necessary.
Jim Granzow, 61, of Diamond Head found out about the Pillbox from his doctor about 10 years ago.
“I was really frustrated going to the other companies - standing in long lines - and they didn’t know me, so I was worried about having a mixture of medicines. Here, they keep track of everything, at the end of the year, they print out a tax statement, and when I call them up they know who I am - it’s just wonderful. And this is kind of like it would be in a little hometown. I love them!”
Indeed, 43-year-old owner Stuart McElhaney’s philosophy - and that of his father, James, before him - is, “Do it right - the right medicine to the right person at the right time. Always have a pharmacist here, so when people come here they can talk to one of us. The patient comes first.”
McElhaney’s 79-year-old father died March 9 from leukemia. Soon after St. Patrick’s Day, a public memorial was held for him at O’Toole’s Irish Pub downtown.
“There was a great mixture of people who came out for my dad,” said McElhaney, “and most of them were employees or customers of the Pill-box.”
McElhaney’s father came from a poor Irish railroad-worker family in Chicago. “He was an alpha male, a phenomenal athlete into his 60s … just a bull,” said Stuart.
But after serving two years in the Korean War as an assistant battalion surgeon, the elder McElhaney also was a heavy drinker and a frequent fighter in bars.
“It wasn’t until about the last year of his life that my father admitted that he might’ve suffered from some post-traumatic stress from the war,” mused Stuart.
It was in one of these bars in Chicago that James McElhaney met Rosemarie Pirl, a young student athlete from Germany, and quickly romanced her into marriage. James became a partner at Fernwood Pharmacy, while Rosemarie “made babies.”
While on vacation in Hawaii in the ’60s, they decided the blue skies of the islands were better than the gray skies of Chicago to raise their three children.
After working at the pharmacy at Queen’s hospital and Rexall Drugs in Aina Haina, his father decided to open his own pharmacy in 1974 in Kaimuki - the Pillbox Pharmacy - and it’s been there ever since.
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“Some of the ideas my father had then were 30 years ahead of their time, such as patient profiles,” said McElhaney proudly. “He was always people-oriented, and never too busy to talk to someone, and to talk to them straight.”
But his mother, who continues to keep the books, was also instrumental in the store’s ability to make a profit.
“The store wouldn’t be open without her,” Stuart testified. “She’s integral.”
Working at the Pillbox since he was 12, McElhaney graduated from Kalani High School in 1981 and got his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., in 1990. After that, his father turned over the management of the employees to Stuart - a self-proclaimed “player’s coach” and “nice guy.”
He’s been trying to keep his father’s legacy of service and innovation alive, but it’s been difficult. Minus one pharmacist (his father), Stuart works there six days a week for almost all shifts - except when his uncle Andreas Pirl (a pharmacist at Straub) comes in on Tuesday and Sunday evenings.
His sister, Kathy (a home-care nurse), and his brother, Michael (a bar owner and male belly dancer!), help out behind the counter a few times a week.
Despite the hardship, Stuart is trying to keep the business in the family, to ensure a personal touch.
“I’m positive about our prospects, even though we lose our lease in 2012,” he said. “I think we can beat the odds - just like my dad has for years.”
PILLBOX PHARMACY
Address: 1133 11th Ave.
Hours: Monday through Saturday 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday 7-11 p.m.
Phone: 737-1777