New Drug Store Features Familiar Faces
The crew at Valley Drugs includes (from left) Lee Lott, Ty Bailey and Bethany Downs.
WATER VALLEY – A new drug store is open in town and customers will see familiar faces behind the counter as the former crew from Fred’s Pharmacy is now serving customers at Valley Drugs on South Main.
Pharmacist Lee Lott served customers for a decade at the Fred’s Pharmacy in Water Valley before the discount chain abruptly closed all locations last year. Now Lott and his former staff, Ty Bailey and Bethany Downs, are excited to start serving their customers again at the new store.
“When Fred’s closed, it took us all by surprise,” Lott explained. “It was kind of like leaving part of your family and it is welcoming to get back.”
Lott added that during the last decade he had forged strong relationships with his customers, providing personal service that the big chain stores can’t provide.
Valley Drugs owner Guy Phillips said the new drug store is part of a small operation that started in the Mississippi Delta. Their home store is Magic Mart Pharmacy in Indianola.
“I have two or three partners and we try to maintain an independent presence in small, rural communities where there may only be one pharmacy or no other pharmacy,” Phillips explained. “We have 11 locations, primarily in the Delta.”
Phillips explained that plans for the new Water Valley location started as Fred’s was closing.
“I was trying to work it out to lease their building and open in that space. It just didn’t work out, we would have been open about four months earlier, but we had to find another location,” Phillips said.
Valley Drugs offers a full line of prescriptions and accepts all major insurances, along with Medicare and Medicaid and Medicare D plans. They also accept private pay.
The business also has a full front end line of vitamins and nutritional supplements.
Phillips said the store is currently offering curbside pickup, if requested.
“But if you are not sick and you want to come in, that is fine. There is no more than one or two people in the store at any given time,” he noted.
“We are more of a health store than a gift store, we are about your health and are here to help you in any way with your health needs,” Phillips added. “I want to tell everybody how much I appreciate the support Lee is getting already. It has been amazing, I can see that he has a passion for this town and for the people.”
