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CORRECTION PUBLISHED 07/28/01: The last name of Stan and Pat Opitz, owners of the Anderson Pharmacy in St. Paul, was misspelled in this article.
For 30 years - "30 wonderful years," Pat Ovitz emphasized - the Ovitz family has run Anderson Pharmacy, 1011 Selby Av. But now it's time to retire, and when the "70 percent off, everything must go" sale ends today, Stan and Pat will say goodbye to the community they've been a part of for so long.
They don't want a big farewell fuss, Pat said, because even though they're happy to retire, they're sad to leave their friends and customers.
Some of those friends have been popping in during the sale and singing the praises of Stan and Pat.
"We'll all miss them so much," said Ann Estis, a Selby neighbor. "They know all the customers and know our birthdays and deaths and when babies are born. They've helped us when our babies needed medicine and when we needed extra help."
Robert Anderson started the business in 1959 and sold to the Ovitzes in 1971; the pharmacy has been in three different buildings over those years. The Ovitzes built the current building in 1983.
The independent pharmacy is a dying breed, Stan Ovitz said. "Long hours and high insurance costs are the reason," he said. "Most people want to work for someone else and work 40 hours a week."
Selby Avenue was in tough shape when the...