Seward Pharmacy
Providing Lake Street with the Care it Deserves
Photo by Bruce Silcox
Elias Usso was working in a retail pharmacy chain when he realized that something was missing in his work. He didn’t have enough time to talk to the patients that came in for their medicine. Elias envisioned a drastically different pharmacy, one that prioritized one-on-one communication, and where you could ask your pharmacist about anything at any time. According to Elias, “Pharmacists are trusted because they are the most accessible health care providers. You can just walk in and talk to me. I even give some patients my cell phone number.”
In September 2019, Elias and his wife Mawerdi opened Seward Pharmacy at 2209 E Lake St, just west of the E Lake St and Hiawatha Ave intersection. As residents of the Powderhorn neighborhood for more than 3 years, Elias and Mawerdi, wanted a better pharmacy for their neighbors and Lake Street, “we’re happy to be on Lake Street. If we can’t do it, who can?” Through Seward Pharmacy, Elias hopes to create a healthier Lake Street by helping the community better understand their prescriptions.
“We’re happy to be on Lake Street. If we can’t do it, who can?”
Elias Usso, Seward Pharmacy owner
Less than six months after opening, the Usso family became terrified of what was to come as Covid-19 ramped up. As new business owners, they struggled between the desire to protect their family versus doing more community outreach. Luckily, Seward Pharmacy had offered delivery since its conception, which proved useful at the beginning of the pandemic but besides delivery, their overall business slowed dramatically. Everything they were doing to establish themselves in the community was interrupted.
“Covid-19 slowed down our business. The civil uprising completely stopped it.”
Elias Usso, Seward Pharmacy owner
Then a few months later, their business was halted completely. Everything Seward Pharmacy had gone missing or was destroyed during the civil unrest in May 2020. There was a significant amount of water damage due to a fire started inside, “Everything we had in here was totally destroyed. It was really painful to see it.”
Seward Pharmacy immediately assembled a GoFundMe for assistance with hopes the community would respond. In less than 24 hours of assembling a GoFundMe page, the community supported their new pharmacy and it passed its original fundraising goal. With $25,000+ from the community and funding from UnitedHealth Group, Seward Pharmacy was able to rebuild and reopen in fall 2020.
“The neighborhood has been great to us, if they don’t stop in they at least give a thumbs up when they walk by” Elias beams about the overwhelming support. He hopes the community will continue to support a healthier Lake Street for everyone by bringing their prescriptions to his pharmacy and choosing it for their everyday health needs.
Seward Pharmacy plans to use the Lake Street Council’s Healthy Lake Street grant funding to provide telehealth in multiple languages and increase its selection of over-the-counter medicine for the community.