L.M. Caldwell Pharmacy Closing

A longtime fixture in the Santa Barbara community is closing its doors for good and the move could impact the health of local residents — at least, on an emotional level.

Pharmacist Peter Caldwell has decided after running the business his father started in 1947, it is time to close up shop; both of them.

Caldwell and his wife, Kathryn, are retiring.

“It’s been a pleasure,” Caldwell told NewsChannel 3. “Through our pharmacy’s standpoint of what we have done and been able to do with the community, with our physicians and with our patients but now is the time.”

Locals may view the closure as more than just the loss of another business.

Caldwell, himself, was a go-to expert for decades for local residents, including NewsChannel 3, when it came to educating the community on health-related issues, from the impacts of Cottage Hospital’s expansion project to a changing Medicare system. Caldwell had no trouble explaining the nuances of the Affordable Care Act to customers and viewers or, the changing legalities linked to ephedrine and pseudo ephedrine to help clear up a stuffy nose.

L.M. Caldwell Pharmacy one of the last mom-and-pop pharmacies around and will be greatly missed.

“I had a patient in today that reminded me that his children were the fourth generation of his family that had come to us. So, we have been around awhile,” Caldwell said. “I had another lady in today that I delivered to when I was in high school as a delivery person for my father. So, we retain our patients and we keep them healthy and well.”

This type of personal healthcare will be available for another week. The Caldwell Pharmacy on State Street will close Wednesday, January 18th. The Pueblo Street location will close the day after, on Thursday, January 19.

Caldwell said retiring means going on to “bigger and better things,” which includes staying in Santa Barbara and we all hope, in good health.