WEST TOWN — Deitch Pharmacy closes business on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Wood Street after more than a century.
Owner Ozzie Feliciano, 66, confirmed he will retire at the end of the month and quit the West Town business after a 41-year career.
“I couldn’t find a buyer for the pharmacy,” Feliciano said. ‘So that’s why it’s not going through, because the insurance pays you for many things below your costs for the medicines. So nobody wanted to buy it, unfortunately.”
The pharmacy at 1800 W. Chicago Ave. has provided bilingual medical services to the once predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhood for decades, in addition to selling supplements and toiletries in addition to filling prescriptions.
Feliciano grew up on the south side and started working as a technician six months before graduating from pharmacy school at Deitch, when he was in his mid-20s. He bought the company in 2001.
“I didn’t want to investigate. I didn’t want to go to the chain drug stores. I wanted to have some autonomy,” he said. “But I did want to have access to my patients and be with caregivers. [So] this was ideal.”
Throughout his career, Feliciano worked with local clinics and community nonprofit organizations to distribute drugs and provide services. He also co-founded the Chicago Avenue Business Association in the early 1980s, which worked with local law enforcement to reduce crime in the neighborhood.
But in recent years, Deitch’s bottom line has been strained by changes in insurance policies and trends in how people access health care, Feliciano said.
“People used to go to the pharmacy for advice. They still do, many of my clients. But the newer people moving into the neighborhood aren’t using the pharmacies like they did 40 years ago,” he said.
Sheila Bullock Smith, a regular, went to the pharmacy 25 years ago after getting frustrated with her longtime pharmacist. Although she lives in Bronzeville, she still travels to West Town once a month to pick up her meds.
“They don’t make pharmacists like Ozzie anymore,” she said. “The pharmacy has that mom and dad feeling, and Ozzie will help everyone.”
Bullock Smith and Feliciano developed a friendship over the years. She sometimes brought him slices of homemade cake and even made CDs for him when she found out he loved Luther Vandross. Bullock Smith says she will probably go to Walgreens for her medication now, but it just won’t be the same.
“Walgreens, they want to get those recipes. They have a small advice window, but if you go there they won’t help you… Ozzie won’t help. Ozzie is going to tell you something,” she said.
Feliciano considered closing last year but decided to stay open to help his customers during the pandemic. Now he is finally ready to retire, partly to spend more time with his aging parents.
Another casualty of Deitch’s closure is the iconic retro signs, at least temporarily.
Credit: Quinn Myers/Block Club ChicagoFelicano says that after the company closes on September 30, he will be required by law to cover them up. He declined to comment on further plans for the storefront or building.
“If we close and this is not going to be a healthcare institution or pharmacy, we have to block it. … It can’t say anywhere that it’s a pharmacy or a clinic,” Felicano said. ‘We’re going to cover them. It’s sad, but I think it fits because this is a dying company in America. It’s all about big companies. It’s hard to have independent owners of anything these days.”
Feliciano says he’s reaching out to all of his customers to help them transfer their prescriptions to a new pharmacy before Deitch’s closes.
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