ATTICA PHARMACY

ALL ABOUT IT

Attica Pharmacy is located at 2 Market Street on the corner of Market Street and Main Street. It is located in the historic location of the Farmers’ Bank, established by Leonidas Doty and Dean Richmond and relocated to this site in 1916. The Farmers’ Bank competed with the nearby Citizens Bank, and prevailed in the village of Attica for over 100 years. The next business in this building was a corner store, which I learned about from Ryan, the owner/operator of Attica Pharmacy. He and his coworker, Laura, are from nearby Bennington and Attica, respectively. Ryan went to Attica High school and cares deeply about the town, moving pack after attending school in Buffalo and working in Walgreens. According to Ryan, when he was a kid, he used to go to the corner store, which closed, leaving the building empty for 20 years, until he established his business there in 2017.
The building is well-maintained, and a green ribbon hangs over the railing above the counter with the words, “Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism”. I was told by Ryan that he tried to make it look as much like the original building as possible, that the windows are all original, the ceiling and lights are new, that the crown molding is original, and the door was moved back to its original spot, after having been moved a few feet over by the previous owner. There used to be another bank across the street, presumably Citizens Bank, but it moved down the street so that it could have a drive-thru. There used to be another independent pharmacy in Attica, Burling Drug, but it sold its scripts to Rite Aid, currently the only other pharmacy in Attica and across from Family Dollar, when it closed in 1996.
Ryan has family members who were/are Correctional Officers at Attica Prison and also has a relative who works at Wyoming Prison. He told me of his uncle on his mom’s side who was in the Attica Riot named Curly and that he’s in “the book” about the prison riot. Laurie, who also works at the pharmacy, has a son who works as a CO, saying she urged him to take the job because it’s the best option he has -- “where else is he going to get benefits, can work his way up, retire by 50, and get 3 weeks of vacation? There is nothing else. You can be a mechanic if you like cars, but you won’t make any money.”
Speaking with these two was an honor, and I am glad that CJ, the cook at the Prospector, told me about Attica Pharmacy and to stop by--he is a customer; said he wants to support someone he went to high school with. The community in Attica is clearly very strong and Ryan said that while it’s obviously hard to get people, especially older people, to make a change, business has been pretty good and they still get new, satisfied customers every week.