By Mike Kinney
Brookvale Pharmacy recently celebrated a grand opening for its new location at 2089 Vale Road, Suite 31, in San Pablo.
The pharmacy that earned San Pablo EDC’s Small Business of the Year award in 2016 now owns its location, which enables the business to save on rent and expand upon its free, same-day delivery service of prescribed medications, which has rapidly grown in popularity, said owner Josh Speck.
The move is also reflective of changing times. Brookvale Pharmacy is known for emphasizing customer service, where customers are greeted by their name and provided their medications in five to 10 minutes. During those five-to-10 minutes, they’ll talk with Speck about sports and other hot topics.
In the modern era, that kind of interaction is waning. Since Brookvale Pharmacy launched free same-day deliveries, fewer customers are picking up their medications, particularly since the pandemic began, Speck said. The high demand for deliveries led the pharmacy to more than double its service area to include the greater East Bay, as north as Vallejo, as east as Antioch and south to San Leandro.
But for those who still want that personal touch, Speck invites customers to visit its new location.
“Brookvale offers something seldom seen in the retail pharmacy world, that’s caring and compassion,” he said. “You feel like a friend when you walk through our doors.
Speck adds that his pharmacy is constantly evolving to support its patients. Brookvale Pharmacy will begin offering a wide variety of CBD products over the counter, including pain creams, sleep aids, anxiety reducers and pet chews, he said.
“CBD studies have been shown in studies to help reduce or eliminate opiates use with improvements in quality of life,” Speck said. “Anybody on pain medication will tell you how difficult it has become to obtain medicine for that pain; we are happy to have an alternative to help our patients.”
