Bruce McAlpine owns a successful pharmacy in Smithville, but during his daily drives through Fonthill on his way to work (he lives in St. Catharines with his family) he was struck by the growth in Pelham. He made up his mind to expand to a second store.
That plan came to fruition recently, as he opened his Pharmasave Pelham Hills location in the plaza at the corner of Pelham Street and Welland Road.
Born in Mississauga, McAlpine earned his pharmacy degree at the University of Toronto, and then went to work at a pharmacy in Beamsville for eight years. He worked with Big V and Shoppers Drug Mart for a while, and then had an opportunity to manage a pharmacy for WalMart, before returning to Shoppers as an associate to own two stores, and owned a pharmacy in Welland from 2007-2013.
McAlpine made the jump to Pharmasave in 2012 and opened his Smithville location. With some 700 stores across the country, Pharmasave positions itself as one of Canada’s “leading independent pharmacy and drugstore retailers.”
McAlpine refers to his pharmacy as a full-service operation.
“Along with a wide selection of pharmaceutical medications and health products, we stock such things as orthotic braces and compression stockings. We try to offer as much service as possible so that people can get everything they need here,” he said.
Though not a local resident, McAlpine said that his son plays basketball for the Pelham Panthers organization, and praised the Meridian Community Centre as a “wonderful facility.”
The Pharmasave Pelham Hills Pharmacy is located at #1-1018 Pelham Street in Fonthill. The phone number is 905-892-5550. They offer an e-mail signup to receive e-flyers and exclusive offers, and prescription refills are available using an eCare@pharmasave account.
