Drive-thru pharmacy serves community for nearly three
decades
Gary Stutheit knows what his clients need when they walk through the door of his little hut-like pharmacy.
“How are you today,” said Stutheit, owner of Gilroy Medical Pharmacy on a Friday evening.
“Hello,” said Herman Robeson, a Gilroy resident as he looked over the counter.
“Do you want me to give you what I have?” asked Stutheit.
“Yeah, I’m getting really low on that inhaler,” said Robeson, 75, a long-time client.
The Gilroy Medical Pharmacy on Princevalle and Sixth streets has serviced the community for almost three decades, and built a reputation of efficiency and friendship with their clients.
What sets this business apart from others is the individual attention that Stutheit and his assistant Letty Camarena, a pharmacy technician, give to their customers; not to mention the speedy service at the drive-up window.
“I know 99 percent of our patients by name,” said Camarena who prepares prescriptions for clients before they drive up to the window to pick up their medication.
Esther De La Rosa, a client for 22 years, said she would not choose any other pharmacy over this one.
“I love that pharmacy because it has an old fashioned feel, but at the same time they are way ahead of their time with the drive-thru window,” said De La Rosa. “They even know my voice over the phone, and every time I go in, they have a new joke for me,” she added.
It’s no surprise that Stutheit, a Gilroy resident for almost 30 years, maintains his loyal clientele. He picks up prescriptions for some of his customers and delivers the medication to their home. They call some of their customers to check up on them after a surgery, and their prices are competitive.
“It’s a really busy store,” said Stutheit, who works 12 hours a day. “We do more delivering everyday. We’ll even go and pick up scripts sometimes. On my way home I deliver.” It is something that he enjoys doing since taking care of his clients is like taking care of his friends.
He bought the business from another pharmacist when Wheeler was still a hospital. Today the former Wheeler Hospital is a convalescent home. He owned the pharmacy near the Medical Pavilion at Saint Louis Regional Hospital before he bought this Gilroy Medical Pharmacy.
On the walls of the pharmacy hang plaques with photos of Little League teams from two decades ago. There is a seating area, and a display with vitamins that rests on the wall.
The pharmacy is also popular for its 50 cent snacks and sodas among the walking Gilroy High School students. After school, students who walk by stop to buy snacks before resuming their journey.
The time that he and his assistant Camarena put into the business has paid off.
“He works from 6:30am to 6:30pm. If you drive by at 7am we’ll service them. Just knock on the window and well take care of you,” said Camarena, who has worked with the business for 12 years. This flexibility with customers allows them to get business out of the way even outside of normal business hours, something customers appreciate.
“We’ve grown up with a lot of them,” said Camarena. “Gary has seen his patients come in with their children, and their children come in with their children,” she added.
That’s probably because their clients get a personal call from their pharmacist. Stutheit believes this is part of what he and Camarena are doing right.
“I try to treat our customers as people, not as a prescription,” said Camarena. “We ask about the family, people share their stories with us, and we do follow-ups,” she added.
Their competitive prices beat some of the big chain pharmacies in Gilroy, but the best thing about the business is how they makes their customers feel.
“Everything else in our lives is so fast paced and so big and impersonal,” said De La Rosa. “And the most wonderful thing about that place is that it’s personal, small, and it does the job efficiently. I don’t even feel like I’m going to the pharmacy, I feel like I’m visiting friends.”
