New pharmacy puts people first

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This article was published 15/12/2021 (1389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pharmacist raised in Tyndall Park opened his second pharmacy kitty corner to the burger and sub shop where he worked as a teen. Now, at the age of 46, Ken Humeniuk has achieved a more recent dream to open a third pharmacy close to home in his new neighbourhood.

Customers first walked through the doors of Westwood Pharmacy at 100 Browning Blvd. in early November. Humeniuk moved to the area with his wife, Tina Humeniuk, in 2007. The pair has three school age children.

“To be able to serve your friends and your family and a place where you live is just incredible — it’s an incredible feeling,” Humeniuk said.

After working at a big chain pharmacy for 16 years, always under the strain of the bottom line, Ken felt as though he had become a human conveyor belt of prescriptions, he said. It was time for a change.

So, Humeniuk opened his first pharmacy on Notre Dame Avenue in 2017. Two years later, he opened Westbrook Pharmacy in the Weston neighbourhood.

“As soon as we opened up Notre Dame, our first one, he would phone me up everyday and say ‘I love what I do,’” Tina said. “He fell in love with it all over again.”

For Humeniuk, customers come first. He does home visits, after-hours deliveries and helps fit customers with health accessories, like compression socks. As a testament to his customer service, Humeniuk gives clients his personal cell number.

“If they need something at 10 o’ clock at night and it’s an emergency, I want them to call,” he said.

With his team of seven coworkers in tow, Humeniuk signed a lease for a spot in the strip mall near his Westwood home when the opportunity arose. Bigelow’s Pharmacy previously occupied the spot from the time the building was built in 1966 to the mid 1990s.

The old Bigelow’s sign was hidden — completely intact — underneath that of the financial company that occupied the spot until recently. Humeniuk took it down and returned it to the proprietor’s daughter and plans to feature a photo of Bigelow’s in his new shop.

“I have strong feelings about independent pharmacy and being a part of the community,” Humeniuk said.

Although neither Humeniuk or Tina ever stepped foot in Bigelow’s, they feel as though they have gotten to know the place through the memories of their customers.

“Everybody has such a wonderful, heartwarming story to tell us,” she said. “It’s been beyond our expectations of what we thought it would feel like to open in our own neighbourhood.”

Given Westwood Pharmacy’s strong connection to the neighbourhood, it made sense to support local makers,” Tina said. She reached out to a laundry list of artisans, and more than a dozen of them have jumped at the idea.

Westwood Pharmacy carries bouquets on the weekend from McDiarmid Flowers. On Tuesdays, Tina picks up fresh sandwiches and cheese buns from Calabria Market and Fine Wines. The market’s owner also runs a dessert shop called Cookie Dough Creations, which supplies Westwood Pharmacy with its sweets.

“I try to think of anything that will make it more convenient for customers,” Tina said.

Tina’s dream is to launch a boutique in the stripmall where Westwood Pharmacy is located. She hopes to fill a need in the neighbourhood for a brick and mortar gift store, following the closure of Baliwix.

Westwood Pharmacy is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Updates about the pharmacy’s operations and selection of local products can be found under the username @westwood_pharmacy_wpg