Smilin' Steve opens new pharmacy in Woodstock
From left, Steve Hochberg and his sons, Jason and Jeff, are the family behind Smilin’ Steve Pharmacies. Here they are in their new Woodstock location, which opened this week. (Photo Provided)
After nine months without a pharmacy in town, people in the Woodstock area now have a local place to go to again.
Smilin’ Steve's Ottauquechee Pharmacy opened its doors Monday, located on the bottom floor of the Ottauquechee Health Center building off Route 4 in Woodstock Village. The pharmacy is open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
It fills a substantial void in an important sector, following the closure of Woodstock Pharmacy last October, which had been in business for 167 years. Woodstock is the sixth Vermont location for Smilin’ Steve Pharmacies, which has been in business for 40 years and has its main location in Rutland. Steve Hochberg, the company's founder and namesake, co-owns and runs the business with his sons, Jason and Jeff.
"We're very happy to be here in Woodstock," said Steve Hochberg. "We've been ready for this for quite some time."
As with each of their locations, the focus is on caring for the customers and getting their needs met, Hochberg said.
"We will do whatever we possibly can, within the legal limits we have, to get everything and meet those expectations," he said.
Curbside pick-up is available, they're working on offering delivery, and they're a phone call away at 802-332-0015. Monday was a soft opening, and a grand opening will be at a future date. No surprise: the new pharmacy has been getting popular.
"We've had a great response from the folks at the health center, and folks coming in," Hochberg said Monday afternoon. "The phone's been ringing."
They've been eyeing Woodstock for many years, and have had discussions with Mount Ascutney Hospital, which owns the Woodstock health center, for several years now.
It's an arrangement they're familiar with. Speaking at the Woodstock location's counter on Monday, Jason Hochberg said one of their two pharmacies in Springfield is located in one of Springfield Medical Systems' buildings.
"Very similar, you go to the doctor, and then your scripts are ready downstairs while you're waiting," he said.
Currently, they have one pharmacist on staff and one technician in Woodstock, and might have an additional pharmacist at the beginning, to help with the transfers of medications from other stores.
"Myself and other managers, my brother, Jeff, included, will be out here as often as we can to make sure everything's going smoothly," Hochberg said.
In the future, he said, the Woodstock location is planning to offer their prescription delivery service, which they do in their other communities, too. They're looking to hire a delivery driver, and also another pharmacy technician for the new location.
Getting the prescription delivery service up and running is a priority, Steve Hochberg said, and they're familiar with the area. The Smilin’ Steve company already makes deliveries to Woodstock and other Windsor County locations for High Mountain Home Care, their long-term care pharmacy serving nursing homes in Rutland, Addison and Windsor Counties.
The Hochbergs are looking forward to delivering directly to local residences in the Woodstock region, though the specific area of delivery hasn't been defined just yet.
"That's to be determined ... but we'll cover a good chunk of the area," Steve Hochberg said. "The busier it gets, the more we'll be able to deliver. We don't mind doing that at all."
He emphasized that customer service is his number-one goal.
"Filling prescriptions, selling products, we can all do that. But meeting the needs of the public is what my goal has always been," Hochberg said. "So if it's delivery, mail, somehow we'll get it to you. We'll figure it out."
— Gareth Henderson
