Eric (Left) and Vanessa (Right) Pederson are the owners of the Pederson Family Pharmacy in Melfort. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

New Pharmacy

Pederson Family Pharmacy opens at former 7-Eleven building in Melfort

Jun 11, 2021 | 3:00 PM

Melfort’s newest pharmacy has officially opened its doors at a location very familiar to residents of the area.

Pederson Family Pharmacy opened it’s doors as part of the PharmaChoice family in the former 7-Eleven building at Main Street and Saskatchewan Drive in Melfort.

(Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

Co-owners Eric and Vanessa Pederson had talked about purchasing the building since shortly after it closed as a convenience store, but hangups with 7-Eleven delayed that. However, they finally came to an agreement to purchase the building and Eric and Vanessa got to work.

“It’s been really nice just being able to use guys from town to make the building look the way we want it to,” Eric told northeastNOW. “Still a little bit of work to do, but barring the weather delays here now, we should be wrapped up with that shortly.”

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Some siding and signage on the outside of the building is still in the works.

(Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

Thursday was the first official day for the pharmacy, but it didn’t come without some hiccups as they lost a very important service shortly before opening.

“We did get a little delayed right when we started, because 20 minutes before we were going to open, the power went out in Melfort,” Eric laughed. “But after that little delay, then yes we were able to open yesterday, and yes it was nice to turn that key.”

(Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

It took a lot of work to turn the building into the pharmacy, as the building was essentially ripped down to the studs – yes, the slurpee machines are gone – and some foundational work was needed to give the whole building a new look. With the building no longer vacant, Eric said it’s nice to finally have something on that corner in Melfort as opposed to an empty shack.

“It’s a lot nicer not having a building that has nothing but boarded up windows, and the old 7-Eleven tin on it and everything else like that,” he said. “Especially on this corner in town, you want something that looks good.”

Eric said they are providing pharmacy needs to those in the area, while also providing more products in the home health area as well.

Pederson Family Pharmacy will also be able to provide COVID-19 vaccines as they are on the provincial list, but are just waiting for a shipment right now.

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mat.barrett@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @matbarrett6