Pharmacare owner Charles Smith said he felt so strongly about the wellbeing of his pharmacy customers, he was compelled to open a second location.

Located in the old Movie Galley building in Andalusia, Pharmacare East is now open for customers.

“I always wanted to do a second store,” Smith said. “I had purchased the property behind here in the hopes I could build a new store, but when this location became available, I decided it was time for the new store. I think this is the best location in Andalusia.”

Smith said there are two differences between the East and Westgate Plaza locations.

“We’re not going to offer the medical equipment here that the other store has,” he said. “It’s very expensive to go through the accreditation process, and the other store is so close. It just didn’t make sense to do it here, too.

“But (in the new location) we have a larger front end, meaning there are more items and a bigger selection of items on the shelves,” he said.

Smith said customers can use both locations for their prescription services.

“Just tell the doctor which place you want to pick it up,” he said. “Prescriptions can be transferred between stores.”

Charles said the store will operate with four staff members; however, as business grows, so will the staff.

Business hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., and closed on Saturday and Sunday.

“We decided to open earlier to accommodate those heading to work, getting off at Shaw and the like,” he said.

As for the property behind the new location, Smith said he hopes to one day develop it.

“I’d love to be able to attract some physicians to the area with free or low cost real estate,” he said. “But that’s in the future. We’ll see.”