Pharmacist William Zaleha owns the new Valley Pharmacy with his wife, Jodi.
DERBY – A new, family-owned pharmacy on Pershing Drive — offering everything from prescriptions to pints of Rich Farm ice cream –is just what the doctor ordered.
Valley Pharmacy, owned by Derby natives William Zaleha and his wife, Jodi, opened in the Pershing Shopping Center at 74 Pershing Drive in late June. The storefront is between the AT&T store and Aldi’s.
While there are many chain pharmacies nearby, William Zaleha, a licensed pharmacist for 12 years who worked for CVS for 18 years, said Valley Pharmacy is different.
“My wife and I both grew up in Derby and went through the Derby school system and we wanted to bring the community pharmacy feel back to the Valley,” Zaleha said. “Once you experience being a customer at an independent pharmacy you’ll never go back to big box pharma. We take pride in knowing our customers by name. Rather than being just another customer in line, or a number in a billion dollar corporation, when you enter Valley Pharmacy you become part of the family.”
Both 2004 graduates of Derby High School, Zaleha said he and his wife, who works full-time as the district nurse for Oxford public schools, had a dream of opening their own hometown pharmacy. They found the vacant space in the plaza and knew it was the perfect place to make that dream a reality.
Zaleha, who earned his degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston, said as an independent pharmacy, he has more control over costs of medication.
“The big pharma are greedy and charge high prices, and that’s why Good RX and these discount cards have gotten so popular,” Zaleha said. “I had no idea how inexpensive some medications were until I went to an independent pharmacy. We have many different wholesalers we can order from.”
Zaleha said there’s “a disconnect” between corporate execs, employees and customers at the big chains, and that’s a prescription for disaster that customers won’t have to deal with at Valley Pharmacy.
“At Valley Pharmacy you can count on getting the personal attention you deserve, the best lowest price for your purchases and everything is done in minutes,” he said. “We will always give you an honest price, and if something is less somewhere else, we will find it for you and even go and get it from another retailer. Simply put, we are here for you.”
Valley Pharmacy offers all the services like the bigger stories, including vaccinations, consultation, medication adherence, medical supplies, delivery, curbside pick-up and more. But unlike the larger pharmacies that he said only get deliveries Monday-Friday, Valley Pharmacy gets them on weekends.
“That makes it really convenient for those needing something urgently on weekends,” Zaleha said.
The Zalehas built the interior of the 2,249-square foot space from the ground up, as the store was vacant when they signed the lease. The inside boasts a clean, minimal look, with warm wood-like flooring serving as the platform for shelving units that line the walls with everyday health and beauty essentials for the whole family.
The Zalehas are firm believers in supporting local businesses, and showcases various wares and gift items, like handmade goat milk soaps from Guardian Farms in Southbury and children’s books by a CT author Billy Steer. There’s also a display table with brightly colored dog-themed t‑shirts where proceeds benefit local rescues. The store also sells gift items from Derby-business owned Krafty Pineapple Creations, as well as greeting cards- not from the giants Hallmark or American Greetings- but rather from small businesses like Lovepop.
A best seller in the store is the pints of Rich Farm ice cream (the uber-popular joint in Oxford) that come in more than 20 flavors and rotate on a weekly basis.
“From the beginning we wanted to do something different to put our store on the map and get customers through the door,” Zaleha sad. “As they say, you don’t know until you ask, so when we started construction in the pharmacy we asked Rich Farm if this would be something they would be willing to do. They said yes. It is rewarding to help support other small or local businesses in our store and it feels good to help support other families like our own.”
The Zalehas, who are parents to three boys ages 7, 5 and 2, invite people to give them a try.
“It means a lot to us to get to know our customers, their medications and take the time to get them the best and most affordable treatment plan,” Zaleha said.
Dominique Ortiz, owner of the Krafty Pineapple Creations, was thrilled when the Zahelas asked to showcase her gift items, and already switched her family’s prescriptions over to Valley Pharmacy.
“I am thrilled to have a family pharmacy in town,” Ortiz said. “I used to go to Howe’s Pharmacy in Milford with my grandparents, many, many moons ago and loved the family-like environment. They knew my grandparents by first name. It’s nostalgic and brings back very fond memories. It’s a much different experience from the larger chains.”
Valley Pharmacy is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. They can be reached by phone at 203 – 734-9455, by fax 203 – 734-9456 or by email [email protected].
