McCalla’s will stay in town

Barbara Diamond

McCalla’s Pharmacy will go -- but not too far.

“Our last day at 292 Forest Ave. will be Tuesday, Jan. 28. We will

open at Pavilions Wednesday, Jan. 29,” Susie McCalla Ornellas said.

The store’s closing marks the end of an era on the avenue. The

McCalla family has served the community at the same location for 44

years as pharmacists, earning a place in the pantheon of special

Lagunans -- first the father, then the daughter.

“Mac” McCalla, who now lives in Palm Springs, was the first

druggist in Laguna to carry AIDS drugs. His daughter did her best to

make sure that residents who could not get back into town the night

of the 1993 firestorm had emergency supplies of the drugs they

needed.

Both have been honored with Pharmacist of the Year awards from

professional groups.

“It is wrenching to move,” Ornellas said. “The day the Christmas

decorations came down, I walked into the store, and someone said,

‘This is the last Christmas,’ and I burst into tears and turned

around and walked out. My dad called me recently and asked me how I

was doing, and I burst into to tears. It’s painful, but I am OK.”

Ornellas took over the pharmacy from her father when he wanted to

cut back. Later, he retired.

“It is the oldest ongoing pharmacy in Laguna,” Ornellas said.

The drugstore opened in 1958. Ornellas was given the word in June

by the building owner that she and Generations, the store next door,

would have to move to make room for the expansion of Hobie Sports.

She was at a loss, with no place to go.

“He changed his mind in September and said I could move into the

space occupied by Generations, but I already was negotiating with

Pavilions,” Ornellas said. “I had received a letter from Safeway, the

parent company of Pavilions, among others. A very nice man came the

next day after I called in response to the letter.”

Ornellas was also negotiating with Via Lido by then, the pharmacy

and gift shop that has been approved for the old Sprouse building on

Broadway, which is managed by Fritz Duda on behalf of his uncle. So

she had several options.

“The move to Pavilions seemed to be the best one for me and for my

customers,” Ornellas said. “They really wanted me.”

Pharmacist Eddie Boring will make the move with Ornellas.

Generations’ lease has been continued, and the shop will stay

where it is.

“I think the people of Laguna Beach and particularly the residents

of North Laguna are very fortunate to have such a kind and

compassionate pharmacist in their neighborhood,” Councilwoman Cheryl

Kinsman said.

The rent increase on the Forest Avenue store was also a factor in

Ornellas’ decision to move to Pavilions, she said.

“Drug manufacturers prices have risen continuously, and the margin

of profit is nonexistent on about one-third of the pharmacy

business,” Ornellas said. “I can’t pay $8,000 a month rent when a

quarter of my business generates no profit.

“Rents on Forest Avenue are becoming prohibitive,” she said. “It

forced me to look at other sites.”

Ropage Beauty Supply Co., a longtime Forest Avenue institution,

reportedly will move to Ocean Avenue to avoid a rent increase to

$22,000 a month for the present site, also managed by Duda for his

uncle.

It isn’t cheap to move a business, particularly a pharmacy,

Ornellas said.

“State laws specify the square footage, the shelving,” Ornellas

said. “You have to have restrooms to comply with the Americans with

Disabilities Act and a locked case for drugs. So many things. A lot

of rules.”

And a lot of memories, but now it’s time to move on.