These days, independent pharmacies are dinosaurs. According to a quick Google search, there is only one left in northwest Philadelphia. But Sherri Leon, a pharmacist who has operated the 50-year-old Whitemarsh Pharmacy in Lafayette Hill for the past eight years, has figured out a unique formula that keeps her pharmacy thriving.

A survey released in February by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) found one-third of community pharmacies reported a cash crunch might force them to close as soon as this year. Anne Cassity, senior vice president of NCPA, said in a 2024 interview with the Ohio Capital Journal, the losses are dire.

She noted, “Last year, 375 independents went out of business nationwide ... We’re losing an (independent) pharmacy a day … Every single day, from multiple pharmacies, I hear about reimbursements. Pharmacists say ‘I’m using my 401(k), my personal savings just to keep this pharmacy afloat. Just to pay my staff.’”

Give them what they want

If not for Whitemarsh Pharmacy’s sign, you might not even know you were in a drugstore. At its entry, racks of shirts, leggings, and countless displays of jewelry, handbags, tile art, silk scarves, and numerous other accessories greet shoppers. In other words, it’s a boutique/pharmacy. There is even a room where people can try on clothing to see if it fits.

“When I came here eight years ago,” Leon told the Local, “it was run down. Now, as you can see, it is boutique friendly, with window displays that did not exist before. The owner of Bags and Bangles in this shopping center, Randy Milakofsky, was here for four years, then was pushed out because of rent. She sold jewelry, handbags, and accessories.”

Leon knows a good opportunity when she sees it. She said, “We hired her as a consultant and salesperson. She works here a couple days a week and goes to the Philadelphia Gift Show and New York Gift Show to buy merchandise. It is retail therapy. I can’t tell you how many people come in and say, ‘Is this still a pharmacy?’ We do ‘drugs to duds.’”

Leon was born in New Orleans, but when she was 8, her father, Dr. Byron Pinsky, moved the family to Bucks County and opened a private medical practice in Fairless Hills. Leon attended Pennsbury High School and Temple University School of Pharmacy, graduating in 1988. She has been a pharmacist for more than 35 years, having previously worked for both national chain and “mom-and-pop” pharmacies.

The last place she worked was a specialty pharmacy in the Horsham area. “We were in business there for six years but went out of business because we were not making enough money,” she said. “We started with 10 prescriptions a day and ended with 15,000 a day. We eventually opened 15 pharmacies all over the U.S., but all of them went under.”

As if running a pharmacy was not enough, Leon and her husband, Michael, a retired pharmacist, own and operate a licensed commercial bakery, where they personally make all products in six continually operating ovens. Their company, Noshes by Sherri, makes Jewish apple cake, rugelach, chocolate macaroons, hamantaschen, and more. The tasty creations are sold at the pharmacy, in all four Weavers Way stores, and in 10 boutique supermarkets. They’re also available throughout the U.S. on their website.

I talked to several customers during my three hours in the store, and each said they come to the independent pharmacy because of the highly personalized service missing from the national chains. Whitemarsh Pharmacy not only delivers to customers’ homes but will also bring prescriptions out to a waiting car and will even shop in a Giant or ACME supermarket for homebound customers.

Lois Sinowitz, of Lafayette Hill, told us, “I love the personal attention. Sherri will go out of her way to talk to doctors on the phone. I used to go to CVS, but there was too much red tape and aggravation. My friends and children come here, too. It’s a great convenience.”

Jeff Loughridge, of Plymouth Meeting, commented, “I love the personal service and the noshes. I used to go to a good pharmacy in Plymouth Meeting, but it went out of business. I am so glad this place is here.”

And Joanne Mekis, owner of Chestnut Hill’s iconic Mermaid Inn, said, “I have been coming here for seven years. I don’t do corporate. I am independent myself, and I want to support other independent businesspeople.”

Leon knows her shop has the secret sauce that keeps its client base loyal. “We are old-fashioned,” she said. “We know who is getting married, who is having a baby, who has passed away. The goal is to make people feel cared for. When you call here, you do not get a recording, you get me. Customers have my cell phone number. It is concierge service. I can’t tell you how many times I have called a chain pharmacy to transfer a prescription. It rings and rings and rings.”

For more information, visit noshesbysherri.com, or, on Instagram, @whitemarshpharmacyandboutique. Len Lear can be reached at LenLear@chestnuthilllocal.com.