Nov. 3, 2006 — So far, customers seem to be finding their way to the Chelsea Drug Store's new location, but owner Tim Coyle says the true test will come once the busier winter tourist season gets in full swing.
In September, St. John's only place to get a prescription filled moved from the first level near Starfish market to the second floor. Folks heading to the store now need to park on the Marketplace shopping center's second level, or take the stairs up one flight.
The new store is larger and carries a bigger assortment of inventory. Coyle and his wife, Heidi, first opened the store in August 2000. In August 2005, the couple and pharmacist Don Porter expanded the operation to Red Hook Shopping Center on St. Thomas.
"There was a need," Coyle says.
When he and his wife decided to open the Marketplace store, they looked around to see what they could sell that St. John shoppers wanted, Coyle says.
"Our guiding force was what can't you get on St. John," he says.
Of course, they fill prescriptions and accept most local insurance plans. The inventory doesn't stop there, however. In addition to a full line of health and beauty items, the store also carries greeting cards, file folders, pens, coloring books, crayons, aroma-therapy items, herbal medicines, homeopathic remedies, toys and gift items. The list includes watch batteries as well as watches, sunglasses and straw hats.
And Coyle says he has tons of Christmas decorations on hand for the upcoming holiday season.
Like many St. John business owners, the Coyles first visited the island on vacation. After about a dozen years, they realized the vacations were getting longer and longer.
"We said, 'We may as well move,'" Coyle says.
The island's people and natural beauty drew the couple here, he says. They had been working in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Coyle was a CVS pharmacist and his wife worked in a hospital. Both earned degrees from the Albany College of Pharmacy.
There are plenty of challenges to keep them on their toes, starting with getting inventory to St. John in a timely fashion.
"And there's the increased cost of shipping," Coyle says.
The Coyles also contribute to the community by sponsoring the first-aid tent at the annual 8 Tuff Miles race held every February on St. John.
Hours at both the St. John and Red Hook stores run from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Call Chelsea Drug Store on St. John at 776-4888 or Red Hook at 776-8300. Refill your prescriptions online at the Red Hook store only.
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