From one multi-generational family of pharmacists to another B次元官网网址� that is the path of Sidney Pharmacy.
The founding Brigham family handed over the business to the Rayani family, whose patriarch Naz Rayani founded the chain of Heart Pharmacy stores in the early 1990s.
B次元官网网址淲e are honoured to be taking the baton from them and take it into the future,B次元官网网址� said Zahra Rayani-Kanji, NazB次元官网网址檚 daughter and a pharmacist herself.
Her interview with the Peninsula B次元官网网址 Review also included her father as well as Becky Brigham and Judy Costanzo, sisters who inherited Sidney Pharmacy from their parents, Frances and Jim Brigham, who opened the business in 1959 after having met in pharmacy school.
The change in ownership has inspired mixed feelings for the sisters. It gives Becky, 67, and Judy, 63, a chance to retire and eventually, hopefully, to fulfill their pre-COVID-19 plans of travelling.
On the other hand, it marks the end of a major life phase. B次元官网网址淔or both of us, it has been our life for 50 years,B次元官网网址� said Becky. B次元官网网址淲e will miss the customers a lot,B次元官网网址� added Judy.
Both started working in the pharmacy as teenagers with Becky eventually becoming a pharmacist like her mother and father who died in 1986, shortly after she gained admission to pharmacy school. The sisters became sole owners after their motherB次元官网网址檚 death in 2018.
For Zahra, this story has a familiar ring.
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Zahra and her brother Rasool (a social entrepreneur who also serves as president of Heart Pharmacy) grew up in the business. Like Becky, Zahra entered the profession after having pursued other career goals. B次元官网网址淚 was just graduating from pharmacy school, when he (Naz) had to retire because of a significant illness,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪o we both had to step into the family business. We did it mindfully though. We had already made the decision to come in.B次元官网网址�
These comparable narratives, even if they happened at different times, made it easy to establish a rapport, said Zahra.
B次元官网网址淲e can just empathize and relate a lot to the experience of growing up in a pharmacy,B次元官网网址� said Zahra.
The two families could also relate to each other in other ways. Naz Rayani had owned Pharmsave Sidney in the mid-1980s before selling that store along with another store in Colwood that opened in 1978. In other words, the two families accounted for two of the three pharmacies serving Sidney at the time. B次元官网网址淪o we all shared,B次元官网网址� said Judy. B次元官网网址淲e all got along so well. Everybody had their own little niche.B次元官网网址�
Not surprisingly, it did not take long for the Rayani family through ZahraB次元官网网址檚 husband Farhan to reach out to Becky and Judy when word of their desire to retire made the rounds. Hours later, another interested party also approached them. Then COVID-19 hit, upending plans. But the connection remained. B次元官网网址淚 always left FarhanB次元官网网址檚 name and number up on my wall,B次元官网网址� said Becky. B次元官网网址淪o I saw it every day.B次元官网网址�
In the end, it was this familiar connection as well as the pharmacyB次元官网网址檚 connection to the community that made the difference for both parties.
B次元官网网址淵ou are so committed to your customers,B次元官网网址� Zahra told the sisters during the interview with the Peninsula B次元官网网址 Review. B次元官网网址淭hat is so easy to see and that is our ethos as well.B次元官网网址� Until recently, the sisters helped the new owners with the transition .
B次元官网网址淥ne day, when we are allowed, we are going to have a party,B次元官网网址� said Judy. B次元官网网址淲e are kind of bowing out very quietly.B次元官网网址�
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But that does not take the pharmacyB次元官网网址檚 place in the community and the new owners have committed to retaining its name.
Naz Rayani knows the feeling of saying goodbye. Born into the Southeast Asian diaspora of Kenya, Rayani studied pharmacy in Scotland before opening his first pharmacy in Nairobi, only to find himself in Canada, where he was involved in a number of pharmacies before starting what is now Heart Pharmacy with its six locations.
B次元官网网址淚 feel for the Brigham family,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey will miss their customers. I sold my pharmacy many years ago and I feel the same way. I had to say goodbye to all my customers three or four times in my life, so I can feel your loss.B次元官网网址�
Do you have a story tip? Email: vnc.editorial@blackpress.ca.
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