Pharmacy's new owner vows to uphold legacy

Keefer's Pharmacy, a fixture in Mount Prospect for more than 60 years, has a new owner. Beau Diab, owner of Petranek Pharmacy in Libertyville, has purchased Keefer's from Jerry and Geraldine Pospisil.

"Nothing is going to change," Diab said. "The penny candy counter will remain. Everyone asks that. And we will continue to provide the specialty medicines for both humans and pets that Keefer's is known for."

Even the Pospisils will remain. They plan to continue to work in the pharmacy, at least part time, but are excited about the prospect of being able to travel and take some time for themselves, Jerry said.

Over the 31 years that the Pospisils have owned the small, independent pharmacy, the industry has changed, Jerry said. He admitted that the invasion of chain stores nearby gave him some anxious moments until he realized that he needed to offer services and products that the chain stores did not.

"I had to be able to stay in business even if a Walgreens opened next door to me," he said.

So he found a niche, going back to the roots of his craft, specializing in compounding specialty medicines that have been discontinued by the big drug companies because they weren't profitable enough. He will compound specialty doses for both humans and pets and offers specialty flavorings to make medicines more palatable.

"The mass merchandising drug companies usually only offer two strengths of any given medicine and to imagine that those two doses will work well on anyone from 100 to 400 pounds is wrong," Pospisil said.

"So people who need specialized doses are referred to a handful of compounding pharmacies in the area. We are one. Petranek's is another. We have the equipment to crush tablets and make them into liquids or capsules, depending upon the situation, so that people can get a more accurate dose," he said.

Because of the specialized services his store offers, Pospisil felt an obligation to sell to a like-minded pharmacist who would continue to serve his clientele. It was Pospisil and Diab's mutual accountant who put them in touch with each other.

Diab said he felt honored to be chosen to carry on the Keefer's legacy and hopes to continue it for another 30 years, just like founder Jack Keefer and Jerry Pospisil did.

"Pharmacies like Keefer's and Petranek's are cornerstones in their communities," he said. "People at Keefer's know most customers by their first name and those people and that spirit will remain."

A native of Stillwater, Okla., Diab graduated from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 1998. He and his wife, Nadia, have two young daughters.