Independent pharmacy ready to open in Orono

ORONO – Eleven months after a national drugstore chain abandoned downtown, an independently owned pharmacy is scheduled to open Monday in the same Mill Street location.

An 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark the culmination of a collaborative effort among city officials, community leaders, area business owners and pharmacist Ali Aghamoosa.

Aghamoosa, 43, was one of about 100 pharmacists licensed in Maine who were contacted by the city in early June. When the letter inviting him to open a business in Orono arrived, he was living in San Antonio working for a consulting firm that sets up pharmacies in hospitals. Aghamoosa received his Maine pharmaceutical license in 1995 when he was working as a consultant to the pharmacy at York Hospital.

“I would not have been able to accomplish this if I had not had a lot of help,” Aghamoosa said Friday while workers readied the store for Monday’s opening. “I arrived on November 3 to begin work. On some days I had painters, carpenters and electricians all here at once.

“I want to thank everyone who stopped by to offer help or words of encouragement,” he continued. “I’ve done this many other times, but not as quickly because of all the extra help.”

He said that at eight or nine community members had stopped by to volunteer their time pricing and stocking merchandise under the direction of Aghamoosa’s cousin, Tala Talakoub of Portland, Ore., who is managing the front end of the store, while he is responsible for the pharmacy.

The new Orono pharmacist also praised Bill Miller of Miller Drug in Bangor for his advice and support.

“I called Billy in July when I first visited Orono,” Aghamoosa said. “I wanted to ask his opinion of the idea since he’s the only independent pharmacist in the area. Every time I’ve needed to ask a question, he’s been there to help me make the right decision.”

While the town could offer no financial assistance to Aghamoosa, officials did offer moral support and logistical assistance, according to Town Manager Gerry Kempen. He said that council members and community leaders were determined to replace Rite Aid with another drugstore.

A pharmacy has been part of downtown Orono since 1908, according to Kempen, and is “essential to the quality of life” in this university community. It is especially important to the many senior citizens who live within walking distance of Mill Street, he said.

A market study done in the early 1990s showed that the drugstore was the economic anchor of the downtown area, according to Kempen. Residents, however, wanted a neighborhood pharmacy, not a large drugstore with a drive-through window.

In October 1996, Rite Aid scrapped a controversial plan to build an 11,000-square-foot store at the corner of Main Street and Bennoch Road after a crowd of about 250 townspeople vehemently opposed the proposal. Three years later, the chain moved all the prescription records from the Orono store to its Old Town pharmacy and left an empty storefront on Mill Street.

Joyce Perry of Milford worked in the drugstore from 1986 until it closed last December. She will be a familiar face for returning customers.

“I’m glad to be back in the community,” she said Friday afternoon as she stocked candy on shelves near the cash register. “Orono seems like family to me. I hope we can serve the community. I’ve missed seeing them all.”

Ann Rosebush, manager of Pat’s Pizza across the street from the new pharmacy, called the anticipated opening “absolutely fantastic. We need one. It’s about time.” Rosebush said she welcomed the convenience of having a pharmacy downtown.

While Aghamoosa will fill prescriptions and sell sundry items and over-the-counter medications available in chain drugstores, he will not sell cigarettes or alcohol. A Muslim born in Tehran, he is prohibited by his religion to make such sales.

“Selling such items that damage the organs and cause disease is contradictory to the idea of a pharmacy as a health center,” the pharmacist said.

Aghamoosa came to the United States in 1977 at the age of 19 to attend Texas Southern University in Houston, where he earned his degree in pharmacology. His wife and four children, ages 7 to 16, will join him in Orono from San Antonio as soon as he finds a suitable home for the family, he said.

The store will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week beginning Monday. For more information, call 866-3800.