Corydon staple Butt Drugs to close
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A longstanding independent pharmacy in southern Indiana will close its doors this weekend. Butt Drugs, which was founded in 1952, notified customers last week that its last day in business will be April 29.
Butt Drugs was founded by pharmacist William Butt and was later managed by his son Thomas and granddaughter, Katie Butt Beckort.
In the letter to customers, obtained by WDRB-TV, Beckort said the decision to close did not come lightly.
“Our customers have always been more than customers to us. They are family,” Beckort said. “Our staff at Butt Drugs want to thank you for your loyalty and the trust you have had in us.”
Beckort told WDRB the store could have closed five years ago, but she was able to make some changes to keep it open. However, she cited changes in healthcare and smaller payments by insurance companies as one of the reasons for the closure.
“Unfortunately, insurance companies continue to reimburse less and less. More and more prescriptions are filled where we are reimbursed less than what we pay for the medications from the wholesaler,” she said. “More than 50% of all prescriptions go out the door at a loss, and this has been a trend in pharmacy that has exacerbated over the last five years.”
Butt Drugs has gained popularity with its old fashioned soda fountain and merchandise with “I Love Butt Drugs” on it.
In 2010, popular YouTubers Rhett & Link made a commercial for Butt Drugs, which went viral and was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The pharmacy said prescriptions that are on file would be transferred to a CVS on May 1, or customers could make arrangements to transfer their prescriptions to another pharmacy.
Beckort told WDRB that another business bearing the Butt name could open in the future.
Click here to read the full story from WDRB.