West Virginia's 3 Drug Emporium stores going out of business this summer

For years, Alan and Charlene Hawkins, of Barboursville, have been going to the Drug Emporium and Healthy Life Market near the Huntington Mall in Barboursville. They’re disappointed the store is closing, but also not surprised.

“They can’t compete with Amazon,� Alan Hawkins said. “But this store was so nice, because they had a variety of everything.�

On Thursday, Hawkins bought a pair of compression socks for $3.99 to help with his varicose veins. He said they’d cost as much as $18 at other stores.

“I’m really very sorry to see them close,� Charlene Hawkins said. I hate to see any independent store close.�

A ‘Host of economic reasons’ for the closure

Bob Petryszak, president of Discount Emporium, which owns the three West Virginia Drug Emporium franchise stores, said employees were told Monday. The three stores are in Barboursville, on ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s West Side and in Kanawha City.

Petryszak said there were a “whole host of economic reasons� for the decision to close. The stores had been in business for 39 years, with the Barboursville store opening in 1986.

“There’s been thousands of employees, and that’s made the difference for us over the years,� he said. “And all the customers that supported a West Virginia-owned company — it’s made us successful for just at four decades, so we’re very proud of that.�

Petryszak said retail conditions, particularly for drug stores, are “tough.� Last fall, Drug Emporium sold its pharmacy business to Walgreens.

“[That business] brought traffic into our stores,� he said. “And without that traffic, it just was not going to be sustainable.�

Discount Emporium is not filing bankruptcy. All vendors and employees will be paid.

“For us, the future just wasn’t bright enough to keep going,� he said.

Drug Emporium was a Columbus-based corporation that had about 180 stores, in addition to 120 franchise stores nationwide at the peak, Petryszak said. That corporation filed for bankruptcy 20 years ago.

Petryszak said there are still nine Drug Emporium stores in Texas owned by a different entity.

“The employees, in particular, and the customers have made the last 40 years an enjoyable time for me,� he said.

‘Losing a hometown store’

And in those 40 years, Petryszak might have run into Dave and Anita Stricklin a time or two.

The Stricklins, of Hurricane, stopped by the Drug Emporium on ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s West Side Thursday for two WVU T-shirts and some Cambridge & Thames cherry drops candy, in a metal tin, which Dave Stricklin said he can’t find anywhere else.

“It’s sad to see smaller businesses be overrun,� Dave Stricklin said. “The trend now is big-box stores, so it’s sad to be losing a hometown store like this.�

This was first reported by WSAZ-TV.