A small, cozy family-owned pharmacy is nestled across the street from the Lake Wales Medical Center. Its staff has been wearing smiles and welcoming customers with friendly conversation since its current location, 437 S. 11th St., was built in 1965. And, according to Jim and Sunny Williams who own the establishment, that is what keeps the business alive – the customer service.

“The Apothecary Shop has served generations of Lake Wales citizens,” said Jim Williams. “The grandchildren of the original children who used to come in just to purchase candy, are coming into the store to have prescriptions filled.” The couple moved from Atlanta in 1962 after Jim got out of pharmacy school at Mercer University. After linking up with a college classmate’s father who had the Murray pharmacy in Downtown Lake Wales, the couple was ready to settle down. “It was a great way to get into the business when you didn’t have a lot of cash flow,” said wife, Sunny. When they moved to Lake Wales, State Road 60 was a two-lane road, shopping for anything major was a trip to Tampa or Orlando, said Sunny. And, she emphasized, there were no fast-food restaurants in town.

Jim has dug into town with great gusto. He is a charter member of the Lake Wales Rotary Club, is an usher at the First United Methodist Church in Lake Wales and is an American Orchid Society judge, traveling the world to judge orchid shows. He is a member of the Ridge Orchid Society. Active in genealogy, Jim is a member of the Polk County Genealogical Society in Bartow. And throughout all the commitments, he and Sunny raised two sons.

Jim and his partner built the Apothecary Shop in its current location in 1965. In 1970 an amiable split allowed Jim to transform his own philosophy into his own business. “I enjoy the customers, the people,” said Jim. “I am a people person and like to interact with people. People used to crowd in here,” said Sunny Williams, indicating the very small back room of the pharmacy. “Doctors used to stop by and chat and have coffee and that is how the pharmacists and the doctors got to compare notes and keep track of what was going on in the community medical field. Now doctors are too busy with their schedules to do that, as are pharmacists.”

Jim is a member of the Professional Compounding Centers of America. Like a franchise, he belongs so he has contacts to check some of the more difficult compounds made for medications and to have backup help when mixing difficult recipes. He makes compounds for area doctors that are not commercially manufactured. “I do creams for a dermatologist in Lake Wales and people from Tampa call for compounds from me. I really enjoy my work, but it is demanding.”

Jennifer Graham is the technician and jack of all trades at the pharmacy. “I do everything, but fill the prescriptions,” she said. An employee of four years, she has worked in a pharmacy in some capacity since high school graduation. She is now considering whether she will continue in Jim’s footsteps. Frances Hensley has been at the store for 21 years. She knows every phase of the business and works many of them, but her specialty is the ostomates and care of those needing limb braces. She can find you a wheelchair, walker or crutches when you need them.

“I love the people. My husband and I moved to Lake Wales 32 years ago. I love it here; a small store and people like to see a smiling face when they come in the door. Being friendly makes them feel better. We are the only independent pharmacy still here. We treat people right,” said Sunny.

Pharmacy hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the phone number is (863) 676-1174.