The former Movie Gallery locale in downtown Trail is a flurry of activity with workers readying the space for the upcoming grand opening of a new drug store later this month.
Ferraro’s Pharmasave, currently located in the grocery store, will soon make its move just a few doors down into the renovated building.
Pharmasave will be expanding its services to include home health care products, such as walkers, lift chairs and bathroom safety equipment. The store will also be stocking a wide range of natural and organic products, including Sisu vitamins, a high quality natural health product.
Lee Boyer, pharmacist and partner in the store, is passionate about starting pharmaceutical compounding, a service not available in the previous store.
“There are some patients who don’t respond to traditional methods of treatment, and compounding is about solving these sorts of problems,” he said.
The 7,000-square-foot historical building, located on the corner of Cedar Avenue and Eldorado Street, was updated into a ‘green’ space.
The décor includes modern eco-friendly LED lighting, and a reconditioned terrazzo floor that was original to the landmark site.
“The floor is original and dates back to the 1950’s when the Hudson Bay store was in here,” explained Danny Ferraro, a partner from Ferraro Foods.
Tim Moorhead, also a partner in the business, recently moved back to Trail, after leaving in 1986 for Vancouver.
After a career in the offices of Pharmasave Pacific, Moorhead is looking forward to working for himself, almost right back to where he first began.
“When I was a kid, I worked for my uncle right across the street from here, when it was Western Drug Mart.”
Boyer, a graduate from L.V. Rogers Secondary School in Nelson, left the Kootenays to study at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., where he earned his B.Sc. Biochemistry degree.
After Boyer received his master’s degree in Biochemistry from McGill University in Montreal, he began a career in science and research.
“I wanted to move back to B.C. with my wife and start a family,” he said.
“Research was very interesting, but I wanted a career change.”
After graduating from the UBC pharmacy program in 2007, Boyer began working at Ferraro Foods.
“My patients continually express their appreciation for my involvement in their care, and that motivates me to do better.”
Boyer and partners are looking forward to having more space to work in, and are taking this opportunity to create a new, different and special environment for their customers.
“Currently the pharmacy is breaking at its seams, more and more people are visiting the pharmacy, and we are running out of space to store medications and to consult with our customers.”
Boyer hopes to use the extra space to give educational seminars to the public and host guest speakers.
“My goal is to educate the community in different and unique ways, and foster the discussion of health care issues, and the sharing of experiences.”
James Ferraro is hopeful that the new store will add to the revitalization in downtown Trail.
“Our company believes in the great opportunities that downtown Trail has to offer. We hope that other business will join in to create a more diverse shopping experience in our city’s core,” commented Ferraro.
The extra space that Ferraro Foods will soon have will be put to tasty use.
Once the pharmacy has moved, Ferraro Foods will be adding a new feature to the foodie shopper’s list.
“We are going to use that space to expand into a full service imported cheese section.”