Thursday, October 1, 2026
Levin’s Pharmacy had already closed its doors for the weekend. It was 6:05p.m. on Friday, May 2, and this wasn’t just any old weekend in the life of the pharmacy, or for Fred Rigel, the owner. On a regular Friday, Levin’s would be open until 8. On a regular weekend, Rigel would man the counter all weekend, serving a slew of customers, just as he has since he took over in 1992. The store has been located at 364 Long Beach Road even longer, since 1922.
But on this particular weekend, Rigel was closing shop early so that the construction crew sent by Good Neighbor Pharmacy could hastily get down to the business of renovating the whole operation in 48 hours. Shelves were already being taken down and ladder were already in place.
But a customer chose that very moment – 6:05p.m. – to gently tap on the storefront door, and Rigel wouldn’t turn her away.
“I need to pick up my cough medicine,” the customer said after Rigel unlocked the door.
“We have a customer,” Rigel shouted toward the back of the store, where the pharmacy is located.
“Fred is a great pharmacist,” explained Good Pharmacy vice president Scott Robinson, who coordinated the weekend project. “He takes care of his customers, but he needs our help.”
“We’re becoming a dinosaur,” Rigel acknowledged. “But we’re going to survive.”
Good Neighbor is a part of AmerisourceBergen, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical service companies. Levin’s is independently owned and operated.
Good Neighbor renovated Rigel’s store, free of charge, both to help him compete with larger pharmacies and as part of a promotional campaign, Robinson said Rigel’s was the third store to undergo the treatment, after one in Alabama and another in Oregon.
According to Robinson, the idea was to redo ”everything from front to back and in between.” Things that were broken were repaired, the store got a new coat of paint, aisles were rearranged and the pharmacy area was redone to allow for more space and a consultation area. All of the work was done between 6 p.m. on Friday – or at least 6:05 – and 5 p.m. Sunday, when the store reopened.
“I’m blessed,” said Rigel.
