Bruce Smith Drugs temporarily closes in Prairie Village

Bruce Smith Drugs, which opened in the Prairie Village Shopping Center more than 60 years ago, has temporarily closed. But it plans to reopen at the end of November.

“We are taking a step back and restructuring,” said Debbie Richmond, pharmacy manager.

Richmond said it was harder for small independent pharmacies today with increasing competition from large chains and from mail-order companies.

“Insurance also dictates where you can go,” she said.

Bruce Smith Drugs was founded in 1955 and at one time had four locations — including the Country Club Plaza, Red Bridge Shopping Center and Shannon Valley in Overland Park — and more than 100 employees.

Richmond’s father, William Richmond, joined the company a couple of years after it was founded and purchased the business in 1976, according to Kansas City Star archives.

The Mission Area Chamber of Commerce honored Bruce Smith Drugs as its 1998 Small Business of the Year. At the time, William Richmond said the company tried to give the best service possible with perhaps double the number of salespeople than typical drugstores.

The Prairie Village store, at 71st Street and Mission Road, has about 20 employees. It also sells gifts, greeting cards, magazines, toys, candy, cosmetics, watch batteries and seasonal items.

The Richmonds recently cut store hours and also some inventory in their efforts to turn the operation around.

For now, pharmacy customers will have to call their physician and have their prescriptions sent elsewhere.

“We plan to hang in there. It’s not a ‘shutting the doors’ kind of thing,” Debbie Richmond said. “The intent is that Bruce Smith will reopen at the end of the month.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2016 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Bruce Smith Drugs temporarily closes in Prairie Village."