Walgreens opened a pharmacy in Kendallville today, but an independent pharmacy two-tenths of mile away is closing next month.

Chronister Pharmacy will close its last remaining store at 9 p.m. April 1. It will reopen April 3 for a liquidation sale of non-prescription merchandise. The sale is expected to last about 30 days, but the closure is final.

"There's quite a trend toward independent pharmacies being eliminated," pharmacy co-owner Tom Chronister said Thursday. He co-owns the store at 318 W North St., which has been in his family for about 58 years, with two other pharmacists.

"The biggest single problem that we face is the government at every level … the bureaucracy that they create and the reduced margins that they force upon us," Chronister said, citing in particular Medicare's prescription drug plan and Medicaid.

Lesser factors contributing to the decision to close include Wal-Mart's $4 generic drug program, an overcrowded market - for a very short time there will be four pharmacies in Kendallville, including Walgreens - and mail-order drug programs, he said.

Walgreens is purchasing Chronister Pharmacy's prescription files and prescription drug inventory. All prescription refills and patient records will be at Walgreens' Kendallville location after Chronister Pharmacy closes, Chronister said.

He and the two other pharmacists and other Chronister Pharmacy employees – totaling about 20 – will go to work for Walgreens. About 25 people worked at Chronister Pharmacy, and Walgreens will also employ 25.

Chronister Pharmacy provided compounding services, making prescription drugs customized to individual needs, in addition to dispensing major manufacturer's drugs. Chronister said he believes pharmacy customers will miss the pharmacy's staff - though many of them are going to Walgreens - and its delivery service.

CVS and Wal-Mart also operate pharmacies in Kendallville.

Chronister Pharmacy once had four locations in Fort Wayne and another in Angola, but those were sold in the late 1980s and 1990s. The pharmacies have changed hands several times and are now owned by Kroger Co.

mschroeder@jg.net