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Mostly Cloudy Popular drug store rebounds after fire
It will take more than a fire to put the Dale Drug store out of business.
The longtime Valley Stream pharmacy, which has already survived competition from the mail-order pharmaceutical business, was heavily damaged when flames tore through a strip mall on West Merrick Road two weeks ago. The owner, Bobby DeVivo, is already making plans to re-open and is setting up shop down the road, with the hopes of eventually returning to his old location.
The fire broke out in Merrick Dry Cleaners shortly before 11 p.m. on Aug. 8, and spread to a Chinese restaurant and the drug store before firefighters were able to stop the flames. DeVivo’s shop had major damage, and he said nothing was salvageable.
The cause of the three-alarm fire remains under investigation.
Dale Drug opened up in a corner store at that same strip mall in 1952 before moving to the center of the plaza. It then expanded when it took over a neighboring space. DeVivo started working there 30 years ago as a stock boy, before eventually buying the business in 1995.
DeVivo said his main concern is fulfilling the pharmaceutical needs of his customers. He said he has a loyal customer base, mostly from the local neighborhood. His store typically would fill 80 to 100 prescriptions a day. “I just want to open so people can get their medicine and I can take care of them,” he said. “That’s the reason I bought this place.”
Immediately after the fire, he began searching for a temporary location. He said he looked at about two dozen vacant stores, before settling on a place five blocks east, still on Merrick Road. He considered Rockaway Avenue, but didn’t want to hurt the business of the local pharmacy there, and he wanted to stay within walking distance of his existing customer base.
DeVivo said that finding a temporary location was important because his old store will take a while to fix. Much of the roof burned, and will have to be replaced.
Construction has already begun on the new store and even though DeVivo doesn’t expect it to be permanent, the renovations will be money well spent. “I don’t want it to be shabby,” he said.
In the temporary store, he won’t be able to sell as much merchandise as the old store, as it is about 500 square feet smaller. Gone will be the greeting card section, but he plans to carry some of the same items such as toiletries, household items and school supplies.
Once the new location is up and running, DeVivo said he can then start making plans to repair the old store. He said he would like to bring it up to date and perhaps even change some of the products that are sold. DeVivo said he is considering selling more medical equipment.
After the fire, DeVivo said he briefly considered “packing it in,” but that feeling was fleeting. With two young children at home and a passion for what he does, DeVivo said he wanted to keep Dale Drug going. “This is what I like to do,” he said.
DeVivo explained that people were loyal to his store because of the customer service. “I do the right thing,” he said. “I always take care of my people. Everybody walks in, I know their name.”
He said he was touched that after the fire, he had about 100 voice messages from customers offering their support, and expressing their desire that his store would re-open.
The night of the fire, DeVivo said he got a call from the alarm company that there was a problem. He asked his father, who lives nearby, to check on the store, and his father told him there was heavy smoke coming from the building. Making the drive in from Suffolk County, DeVivo said he had time to prepare himself for the worst, “but I guess you’re never really prepared for flames coming out of your roof.”
Because the fire broke through the roof over his store, firefighters had to pour a lot of water on it. He said anything in the store that wasn’t damaged by flames or smoke was ruined by the water.
DeVivo said he expects to be up and running at his temporary location next week. It is located at 360-A Merrick Road, the former site of a beauty supply store.
