113-year-old pharmacy in downtown Oshawa will soon close

A downtown Oshawa institution for 113 years will issue its final prescription Jan. 31.

The Lovell Drugs location at 8 King St. E. – located at the city’s four corners since 1911 – will close its doors at the end of next month, with the company citing the post-COVID “challenges” in downtown Oshawa and the closing of the Oshawa Clinic a couple of kilometres to the east.

“Closing our Lovell Drugs, 8 King Street location after over 100 years in the Oshawa community was an incredibly difficult decision,” the Lovell Drugs communications team told INdurham. “Our hearts are heavy as we say goodbye to such a cherished part of this legacy.”

The statement said the decision was “driven by the challenges of the post-COVID downtown environment” and the closure of the Oshawa Clinic at 117 King St. E, in July, “which had met the needs of patients for over 90 years.”

“Both closures mark the end of significant chapters in the history of Lovell Drugs and the Oshawa community.”

Lovell Drugs, which began life in 1856 in Bowmanville, was the oldest and one of the largest independent drug store chains in Canada until it was acquired in 2020 by Toronto-based Neighbourly Pharmacy, which now has the largest network of community pharmacies in the country.

“We remain deeply committed to the Oshawa community and to supporting our key team members, who are dedicated to serving patients by offering prescription and healthcare services at all other Lovell Drugs locations,” the Lovell Drugs statement said. “We sincerely appreciate the trust and connection we’ve built and look forward to continuing to provide top-quality health-care services.”

Stan Lovell

Lovell Drugs has a dozen locations in Oshawa and Whitby in Durham Region and in Kingston and Cornwall in eastern Ontario. The decision to close the downtown Oshawa location at the end of next month (which will bring the total to 11) will have no effect on other pharmacies in the city at Rossland Square, Grandview Plaza and Durham College.

The Lovell Drugs story began in 1856 when David Stott opened a drug store in Bowmanville. By 1903 Edwin Lovell, a young graduate from the Ontario College of Pharmacy (and gold medalist of the class of 1907) began working in the Bowmanville pharmacy. When he became a full partner in 1909, the store changed its name to Jury & Lovell and began offering other services while expanding to other locations, adding the King Street pharmacy in 1911.

Lovell also served as a school trustee in Oshawa for 30 years; the E.A. Lovell School in downtown Oshawa was named in his honour.

In 1943, Everett Lovell, a 1940 pharmacy graduate and fresh from active service in the Medical Corps in the Second World War, took over from his ailing father to run the company. When he too became ill, in 1947, his younger brother Stanley joined the company, having just graduated from university. Stan Lovell became president of the company on his father’s death in 1971.

Stan Lovell was well recognized by the community as a humanitarian and volunteer, working timelessly at both business and many charitable organizations until his retirement in 2000 when his children Arthur Lovell and Diana Lovell Kirk began carrying out the family tradition.

Diana Lovell Kirk

“It’s a privilege to be part of a family, and a company, that has been so involved in the community for so long,” the brother and sister executive team said at the time.

In 2020, Diana Lovell Kirk and Arthur Lovell retired and sold Lovell Drugs to the Neighbourly Pharmacy group.

“It’s the small businesses that are the ones that support the community and that is what we want, we want Oshawa to flourish and welcome them,” Lovell Kirk said. “It’s a unique time right now, trying to figure out how to support businesses; it’s very important to be there for them.”

Diana Lovell Kirk was honoured last month with induction into the Oshawa Walk of Fame – one of six celebrated Nov. 7 – for her contributions to Oshawa and Durham society, especially in the areas of cancer research and preservation of historical buildings in the city.