By Dave Matlow
UPDATE Achorn’s Pharmacy, a fixture of Westport’s downtown since 1927 and the oldest independently owned business on Main Street, will soon relocate to Playhouse Square, according to owner Ajay Desai.
Achorn’s Pharmacy, a downtown mainstay for 85 years, will soon relocate to Playhouse Square. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Desai who assumed ownership in March 2011, having purchased the business from Ed Levinstim, said he is ending Achorn’s 85-year downtown presence because his lease expires in May and the landlord has quoted “extremely high rent” to remain at that site.
The relocation of Achorn’s—the sole remaining pharmacy downtown—is another milestone in the departure of independently-owned businesses from downtown Westport.
Last month Harvey Skolnick, owner of the Liquor Locker, announced his business was leaving its Main Street location after 44 years and relocating to the Compo Shopping Center. He said the move was motivated by sharply increasing rent and a reduced attraction of shoppers to Westport’s downtown. (See WestportNow Jan. 10, 2012)
Among the remaining longtime, independently-owned retailers on Main Street are Oscar’s Deli, Westport Pizzeria (although there are indications it may soon leave Main Street too as last month Westport Pizzeria Too LLC purchased the pizza restaurant space at 143 Post Road East, across from the former Post Office), and Francois Du Pont Jewelers.
Noel DuPont, the jewelry storeowner, said he has been at the same location at 105 Main St. since the mid-1970s when his father Francois started the business.
Max’s Art Supplies on nearby Post Road East has been at the same location for 56 years.
Achorn’s opened in 1927 at 11 State St. East, the former name of what today is Post Road East. It has been at its present location for decades and was the backdrop for a scene in the 1956 movie “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” starring Gregory Peck.
Gregory Peck walked on Westport’s Main Street a short distance away from Achorn’s Pharmacy in the 1956 film “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) 20th Century Fox photo
“We love the Westport community,” said Desai. “It reminds me of my small town upbringing in Park Ridge, N.J. Everyone here knows and respects each other.”
Desai said he is keeping the same staff. “We have a great bunch of employees,” he said.
Among them is Karen Levinstim, the daughter of the former owner who said she has worked there for five years, and Anne Iacurci who said she has been at Achorn’s for 18 years.
Desai said that during the relocation he expects to continue operations at both the Main Street and the Playhouse Square locations until the move is complete.
He said the pharmacy prescription section would be in the first phase of the move to Playhouse Square.
“I come from a family of pharmacists that includes my father, uncle, brother and my wife, a former pharmacist at a CVS store in New Jersey,” he said. The couple has been married two and a half years.
Desai, who has worked in his father’s pharmacy since he was in elementary school, said the Desai family now owns other pharmacies including Varnum’s in New Canaan and several independent stores in Riverdale, Brooklyn, Port Chester and New Jersey.
Good luck to Achorn’s—the Desai’s and all the good people working there—in their move and new home. While it’s a sad thing to see another independent store leaving Main Street when its lease is up, it is good that this independent pharmacy can continue its long run in Westport.
What a HUGE loss to Main Street! With Achorn’s departure, downtown Westport’s soul has virtually disappeared. I see little reason to go there anymore; I can just as easily shop online at The Gap, Pottery Barn, etc. Best of luck & much love to everyone at Achorn’s. I’ll be visiting you at Playhouse Square.
These moves are simply the culmination of what started downtown 25+ years ago. And sadly, the window for attracting more independent stores may have been the past 2 – 3 years while the economy was really bad and vacancies were high. Now downtown is seeing a resurgence which I hope is good for the tax base but not so good for the prospects for more local businesses. We just need to make that extra effort to cherish the local businesses there are in Westport and show them a lot of love.