Wellborn Pharmacy takes on new place, new name

New place, new name.

Wellborn Pharmacy last Monday closed its South Second Street location of about 60 years near downtown, moved to a bigger site on South First Street and renamed it Mesa Winds Healthmart Pharmacy when it reopened the next day.

Brian Wilson, owner of the pharmacy now at 1923 S. First St., said in a telephone interview last Tuesday that moving all the equipment about a mile south went smoothly, but staff were busy filling prescriptions that piled up during the drugstore's brief closing the day before.

"We had several unique challenges associated with it, but we are open for the first day in our new place," he said. "We're facing quite a bit of backup from being closed yesterday. Mondays are busy anyway, but with us being closed yesterday, we're really banging (to get orders filled), but we're up and running."

Wilson bought the South First Street building and had planned the move for some time.

"The old building was really inadequate; we'd outgrown it," he said. "We were kind of stepping all over each other. I thought it'd be a good location for the pharmacy and what we could do with the space with minimal changes. It was attractive all the way around."

One feature the old building at 315 S. Second St. had the new location won't, however, is a drive-through service window.

The previous building first was a Pointer Pharmacy in the 1960s. The Wellborns bought it in 1984 and changed its name to Wellborn Pharmacy.

Wilson bought the business in 2009 and elected to keep the name. But that changed with the move.

"Because of going through the change of ownership with (the Wellborns), I really didn't want to pass that sort of pain onto my successor when I decide to sell," he explained.

"I wanted a neutral name; I didn't want my name attached to it. I wanted a name reflective of the area; we have the mesa out here, and it's always windy. So I came up with the name and liked it."

Wilson said he didn't know what the fate of the old Second Street building and its old neon sign would be. The property is owned by Gay Wellborn, the wife of previous pharmacy owner Donald Wellborn who died in 2018.

Wilson said a new pharmacist soon will join the Mesa Winds staff, and he hopes to begin a new service - offering vaccinations - by the spring.

The new space, which was a veterinary clinic about 20 years ago, includes a marine aquarium in the waiting area that enthralled two children there last Tuesday.

Wilson said customers' response to the new location has been "very positive" so far.

"People think it looks very nice, and they're impressed with the space," he said.

Mesa Winds' hours will continue to be from 8:30 to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. It also holds the same phone number at (575) 461-2784.