The Jackson County Banner
Seymour once again will have a family-owned pharmacy with the opening of Family Drug this winter.
The business has served Seymour customers from its Brownstown location for more than 80 years, but it soon will be a whole lot closer.
Renovation work is underway at the 3,800-square-foot former First Financial Bank building at 202 E. Tipton St. Signs for Family Drug already have been erected outside of the building, including a new electronic sign.
The building became available after First Financial acquired MainSource Bank and moved its operations to the MainSource building at 1130 E. Tipton St.
Scott Butt, manager of Family Drug, said he hopes to be able to open the store at the beginning of December, if all goes according to plan.
The decision to expand to Seymour came after Bevers Family Pharmacy, a landmark family-owned business in downtown Seymour, closed in 2016, Butt said.
“When Bevers closed, we got a lot of their clientele, and we realized there was a need for us in Seymour,” Butt said.
Being right on Tipton Street, which also is U.S. 50, and close to the downtown, the store will have exposure to a lot of traffic.
“It’s a great location,” Butt said.
The store will offer all of the services Family Drug in Brownstown offers, including home delivery, pill packaging, pharmaceutical compounding and durable medical equipment, as well as special services for clients with diabetes, such as shoe and brace fitting.
“Everything we do here in Brownstown, we will do there,” he said.
With five full-time delivery employees, Family Drug serves all of Jackson County, and Butt said they are exploring the possibility of delivering to surrounding counties.
When it comes to staffing the pharmacy, which is affiliated with Health Mart, Butt said it won’t be a problem, as he already has doubled his staff in Brownstown and has them trained and ready.
Laura Bunte will serve as the pharmacist in charge at the Seymour location. She has been with Family Drug for about three years and previously had worked at Walgreens, Butt said.
“We’re excited and glad that we can expand to serve the Seymour community and to have the opportunity to earn people’s business,” he said.
Other pharmacies in Seymour include CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Jay C, but Family Drug will be the only independent family-owned one.
Family Drug’s origins go back to 1937 when W.R. “Red” Butt moved to Brownstown and purchased Brock’s Pharmacy, reopening it as Twin Town Drug, according to the Family Drug website.
In 1960, Red’s daughter, Sally, and her husband, Jerry Banks, joined him in the business.
The pharmacy expanded in 1962 when the family purchased Emerson Drug in Brownstown and renamed it Brownstown Pharmacy.
Jim Butt, Red’s son, joined the business in 1967 as a pharmacist.
With the death of Red Butt in 1988, ownership of the business was transferred to Sally and Jim.
Growth and success led to the merger of Twin Town Drug and Brownstown Pharmacy into one location in 1991 with the opening of the current Family Drug at 810 W. Commerce St.
When Sally and Jerry Banks retired in 1994, Jim Butt became the sole owner of Family Drug.
A renovation and enlargement of the store was completed in 1996, and in 2000, Sally Banks came back to work full time as a staff pharmacist until she died in 2006.
Scott Butt, Jim’s son, joined the team in 2001 to initiate the home medical equipment service and took over as manager when his father retired in 2009.
Jim passed away in 2014, and Scott continues to grow the Family Drug name.
“We’re on our third generation, and we hope to be here for at least three more,” Butt said.