Geneva Pharmacy to close after nearly 1 year

GENEVA – After nearly a year in business, Geneva Pharmacy, 501 E. State St., Geneva, closed Oct. 14.

The independent pharmacy just did not have enough business to stay open, owner Melissa Lee said.

“We appreciate everyone’s support over the past year,” Lee said. “We were hoping it would work. We have a fair amount of customers, but not enough.”

Lee had worked at Riley Drug for 13 years. Riley Drug had been an independent pharmacy in Geneva for 55 years.

Lee said she and her technician and delivery driver will join Lombard Pharmacy, 211 S. Main St., Lombard. Those with prescriptions can keep them through the Lombard location and still get free delivery, she said.

“We’ll be working for a friend of mine, another independent pharmacy,” Lee said.

Lee has listed the Geneva property for sale at $400,000 through Discover Real Estate.

The building, which is 1,000 square feet, was a former dog grooming business, From Shaggy to Chic. It originally was built as a residence in 1857, officials said.

Lee invested $517,000 for building improvements and the City Council approved $93,520 as reimbursement through the East State Street TIF for a portion of the improvements, which included demolition, site and utility upgrades, foundation repairs, sidewalk extension, facade and landscape to meet the city’s design standards, officials said.

A tax increment finance district is a development tool in which tax dollars are diverted for public improvements such as roads and sewers, as well as other purposes as the law allows. The East State Street TIF was adopted in 2000 and is scheduled to expire in 2023.

At the time, Economic Development Director Cathleen Tymoszenko had said public-private partnerships are necessary to make older properties functional for future use.

Mayor Kevin Burns said TIF investments are always about enhancing properties, “not about giving an advantage to a particular business. It’s about improving property and the physical space.”

“In the event that a business closes, that space has already received investments and enhancements necessary for another business to move in,” Burns said. “While we are sad to see Geneva Pharmacy close, we are confident that this public-private partnership that enhanced this site will yield an end user that will add to the eclectic and dynamic East State Street Corridor and benefit our community as a whole.”