Pharmacy/convenience store coming to downtown Champaign

CHAMPAIGN Downtown Champaign is expected to get a new pharmacy and convenience store in a matter of months.

CompleteCare Pharmacy, which already has locations in downtown Springfield and Chatham, plans to open at 14 E. Washington St., C, on the first floor of the Hickory Building.

The store, which will carry convenience foods and household supplies as well as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, could open as early as December, said Bob Pemberton, manager of Independence Holding Co., CompleteCare's parent company.

It would be the first time since 1991 that downtown Champaign has had a pharmacy outside a clinic setting. Cavett-Rexall Drug operated a store at 2 Main St. from 1979 to 1989, when it was sold to Hook's, and Hook's operated the store for another two years.

In a market dominated by both Walgreens and CVS, Pemberton said CompleteCare aims to provide service and "a hands-on approach ... in a way the chains don't."

He said CompleteCare is counting on good foot traffic from people who live or work in downtown Champaign. Plus, there's street parking along the front and side of the building to accommodate people who come by car.

The store plans to employ seven people, including at least two pharmacists and some pharmacy technicians, he said.

Hours are expected to be 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, he added.

"We have one (downtown location) in Springfield that's done very well," Pemberton said, and Champaign may have the same potential.

Independence Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of health care products distributor H.D. Smith, began operating in Chatham in 2000 and opened the Springfield store two years later, Pemberton said.

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Pharmacy/convenience store coming to downtown Champaign