The People's Pharmacist

from NRV Magazine Nov-Dec 2020

Biz During a Pandemic

You won’t find cosmetics, magazines or greeting cards when you go into Senthil Marimuthu’s pharmacies in Blacksburg and Christiansburg. What you will find, in addition to any medication you need, is an attention to detail and a commitment to service that could be considered conciergeworthy. If Terry and Joe Greadon hadn’t already co-opted the title, Sen, as he likes to be known, could be the People’s Pharmacist. As it is, he thinks he’s just doing his job by carefully looking after his customers. Sen’s path to the New River Valley is relatively straightforward. After finishing his undergraduate degree in India,hecametotheUniversityofRhode Island for his postgraduate pharmacy degree in 2002. At the completion of that he found an internship at the Rite Aid Pharmacy [since closed] in

Text by Becky Hepler Photos by Kristie Lea Photography

Blacksburg and came here in in 2003. Like many who come to the New River Valley find out, it is a hard place to leave, though it took Sen a little longer to come to that realization. When he finally took time to check out the area, he was delighted. “I really didn’t have a big plan, and this was the first opportunity,” he says. “Once I explored, I found Blacksburg has everything you need, but on small scale. I’m here for good.” There was a shortage of pharmacists so the internship turned into a real job quickly and by 2004, he was the assistant manager. He spent weekends helping out at other Rite Aids in this district, from Pulaski to Galax and westintoPrincetonandBluefield. Itgave him extra money, more experience and a community of colleagues he could call on later in his career when he left the chain. Burnedoutonhisworkschedule andnotfindingtherightmotivationfrom Rite Aid, Sen decided to strike out on his own. He opened Blacksburg Pharmacy on North Main Street down the sidewalk from Food Lion in 2014. It was a scary time. “If no one shows up in that first 30 to 45 minutes, you’re freaking out,” he relates. “You’re sure you’re going to go under, you’re always nervous, you want to be right.” But after two hectic years of on-the-job training, learning from his mistakes and honing his business and work philosophy, Sen felt like he had made the right decision. Sen saw many customers making the effort to come from Christiansburg to the Blacksburg Pharmacy location. He correctly anticipated growth in that market, so two continued on page 46