Frye buys Brimfield, Princeville pharmacies
By JEFF LAMPE
For The Weekly Post
BRIMFIELD – At a time when many small-town pharmacies are closing, the future looks much brighter for two local drugstores.
On Jan. 1, Kevin Frye completed his purchase of Sherman’s Pharmacy and Princeville Pharmacy. His brother, Kody Frye, is the manager and pharmacist in Princeville and they become the second set of brothers to play active roles in providing medical assistance for local communities.
Curtis Sherman, who started Sherman’s Pharmacy in September 1977, will continue working as a part-time pharmacist two days a week. His brother Keith Sherman, who worked at Caterpillar Inc., has also been involved as a secretary and treasurer for the business, which in 2000 expanded north and opened Princeville Pharmacy.
A 37-year-old Williamsfield native who now lives in Brimfield, Frye started the process of purchasing the business six years ago. He said at that time, the pressure put on pharmacies by pharmacy benefit managers – middlemen between pharmacies and insurance companies – was a bit scary. But in recent years, he said new federal legislation has helped drugstores.
Frye said he also benefits from the overall lack of pharmacies in central Illinois.
“We serve a very wide area. There’s not many independent pharmacies left,” he said. “We’ve got some really loyal customers who have been with us for a long time.”
Curtis Sherman said the pharmacy business has changed dramatically since he started at age 24.
“I’ve seen in my lifetime from almost every small town around having a pharmacy to hardly any,” he said. “The fixed pricing by insurers has been a killer over the years. But since we have survived, that’s getting better.”
Sherman said another plus has been membership in the Compliant Pharmacy Alliance Cooperative, an independent buying group that represents about 2,200 local pharmacies across the country.
“That gives us buying power similar to a chain,” Sherman said. “It saved our bacon.”
Kevin Frye said he first met Sherman when he was playing basketball as point guard for Williamsfield and former coach Bob Anderson. Sherman was a longtime basketball official and Frye said he didn’t know that Curtis was a pharmacist when they first met.
Frye credits his wife, Taylor, with getting him interested in becoming a pharmacist after he had first considered a career as a drug-sales representative. The couple have three boys and one girl.
After six years of schooling, Frye started working as a pharmacist in 2011, including a stint with the national chain Walgreens.
Frye said there is a significant difference between doing business with a national chain and a local, independent pharmacy.
“The service we provide compared to Walgreens is second to none,” Frye said. “We know your name here. You aren’t treated like a number or like it’s a fast-food restaurant.”
Frye said he appreciates the Sherman brothers working with him on the extended purchase process.
