Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994 TAG: 9404070206
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
No one knows better than Cundiff how the pharmacy business has changed. Competition from pharmacy chains and mail-order companies has chipped away at the clientele of many community pharmacies.
Cundiff has managed the downtown Vinton store for 35 years - long enough to welcome second- and even third-generation customers.
The lunch counter may have been replaced with tables, chairs and a coffee machine, but Cundiff's inventory has stayed up-to-date. The store carries a complete line of home health-care equipment and products for sale or rent, health/beauty needs and some novelty items.
"I would love to repeat the 1960s and '70s again," said Cundiff, remembering a time when the business was simpler.
But he is not discounting the success of the drug store through the years.
"I think personal service is what has kept us in business all this time," said the grandfather of five. "Most of my customers are also friends."
Cundiff was appointed to the state Board of Pharmacy by Gov. Gerald Baliles and continues to serve. He takes seriously his role on the board, which licenses all Virginia pharmacists.
When Cundiff finished pharmacy school 40 years ago, most pharmacies were independent. He said it was the goal of many of his classmates to have businesses of their own.
"The business has changed," he said. "Today there are jobs for pharmacists in research, for drug manufacturers, hospitals, consultants - many options."
Despite the options, Cundiff's sons, Bill and Sam, both chose to become pharmacists, helping with the Vinton store and one the family partially owns on U.S. 460 East, Cundiff's Blue Ridge.
The drug store employs 10 people and delivers within a 10-mile radius of downtown Vinton.
Cundiff Drug Store, Inc. is at 116 South Pollard Street, Vinton. The phone number is (703) 342-8928.
by CNB