KILAUEA — When North Shore Pharmacy and Health Emporium opened Dec. 12, 1988, Alex Latif was a baby. While his parents Mike and Sheree worked long hours to start their new business, their firstborn son often slept in a crib
KILAUEA — When North Shore Pharmacy and Health Emporium opened Dec. 12, 1988, Alex Latif was a baby.
While his parents Mike and Sheree worked long hours to start their new business, their firstborn son often slept in a crib in the back. As the years passed, the pharmacy grew — and so did Alex.
Today, the 25-year-old who earned his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Hawaii, Hilo, works alongside mom and dad. He greets neighbors, friends and past teachers, all the people he has come to know well. And they know him. Sure, he’s the same surfer and athlete he’s always been, but he’s a pharmacist now, too.
“It’s all community,” Alex said. “It’s really good to be able to help people that you know. You see the difference that you make.”
Dad, of course, is proud.
“That’s been the nice thing for us, is all the feedback we get from the community on what a great job Alex is doing,” he said.
For a quarter of a century, North Shore Pharmacy and Health Emporium has been making a difference in the health of its community. Not just by preparing and distributing pharmaceuticals, but through offering a range of health products. Through education. Through advice. Through encouragement.
“This is not your typical pharmacy,” Alex Latif said.
Not at all, says Martha Harkey, a five-year pharmacist with North Shore Pharmacy.
“It’s not your usual pharmacy, which is really why I’m here,” she said. “Mike and Sheree’s interest is in having all sorts of therapies available for patients.”
“Instead of looking at very potent pharmaceuticals as the first line of therapy, we really look at diet, lifestyle, herbs, other things,” Harkey said. “We’re not pushing pharmaceuticals. We’re really pushing health here.”
It shows.
A walk through the cozy, comfortable store at 2460 Oka St. reveals row after row of natural products and supplements, like B-stress formula to bee pollen to New Chapter multivitamins. There are DVDs on yoga and Pilates. There are candles, canes and cards. There are journals and slippers and recipe books, too.
It’s about living well and staying strong. They want people to know the importance of nutrients, exercise and decreasing stress.
“This is who we are,” said Sheree. “My feeling about pharmacy, it encompasses the whole natural world. This is basically a reflection of who we are and what we believe in. That’s why we call it a health emporium.”
What they believe in, and always have, is community.
“From day one, people just welcomed us with open arms,” Mike said.
Come holidays, cookies, candy and gifts are delivered to North Shore Pharmacy, courtesy of customers who appreciate the Latif’s dedication.
“You get the feeling you’re part of something that’s very special and because of it, we treat it like it’s very special, too,” Mike said.
Mike and Sheree, both pharmacists and graduates of Wayne State University in Detroit, met waiting in line to buy text books.
They’ve been an item since.
“She wouldn’t stop hitting on me,” Mike said, laughing.
They married, honeymooned in Kauai and fell in love with the island. In 1988, they moved here and established the North Shore Medical Center with Dr. Jeffrey Goodman. The idea was to provide and expand medical services in the area.
“There were no pharmacies. We became almost like the neighborhood general store,” Sheree said.
Their pharmacy has always reflected their personal health philosophy and lifestyle, with an emphasis on a holistic, preventive approach. They embraced the needs and suggestions of the community. Over the years, they added products and services aimed at educating people on making the best choices for their health.
“Anything that has to do with natural medicine,” Sheree said.
They expanded into a full-service compounding pharmacy, specializing in pain management, autism care, custom nutritional forums and support therapy for oncology patients. There’s an on-site herbal consultant, too.
North Shore Pharmacy has evolved, from day one, and still is.
“It was like painting,” Sheree said. “Each layer came one point after another.”
One key is that they take time to know their customers on a personal basis. It’s about more than filling a prescription.
The people are, says Alex, part of their extended family.
“We’re all such a close-knit community,” he said.
They give back, too. Mike has coached soccer. Sheree has helped in schools. They’re big on promoting community events and fundraisers. They’ve donated medical supplies for mission trips and present free educational health-related lectures.
After Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992, the Latifs dispensed prescriptions and other items out of a small window on the lanai of the pharmacy and operated for two months using generators. Mike traveled to Oahu and brought back drug supplies.
“It’s about meeting the needs of the community,” Mike said.
It’s still that way.
When customers walk inside, they’re greeted with hellos, smiles and conversations about how life is treating them. Outside, folks hang around, some days, and just chat as they sit on a bench.
“This is pretty much the hub right here for the North Shore community,” Sheree said.
A hub with a big purpose.
“Health is all about education, about educating people to make the right choices,” Mike said.
“We try to enlighten people to what the right choices are, give them options so they can make better decisions on how to take care of themselves. That’s kind of been our goal.”
North Shore Pharmacy employs 12. Mike and Sheree’s son Dylan is a pharmacy technician there, while daughter Margo, in high school, works as a cashier. The baton will gradually be handed over to Alex, a third-generation pharmacist, following in the footsteps of Mike, Sheree and her father, too.
“I will be like his assistant. We’re kind of switching roles,” Mike said.
The three don’t often work the same shifts, but when they do, it’s always good. They’re professional, absolutely. But do they get along and have fun? For sure.
“It’s really wonderful to be working with your son,” Mike said.
And they have no doubts he’s up to the task. Alex went away to school for eight years before returning last year. He returned a pharmacist — and a man committed to his profession.
“I go to him for questions,” Sheree said of Alex. “He is clinically, so sharp.”
Alex, who created a Facebook page for North Shore Pharmacy and is developing a website, loves what he does.
“There’s always more to learn. There’s always something else you haven’t read yet,” he said. “It’s never ending. Medicine is never ending.”
Mike, a musician, and Sheree, a painter, are far from through at North Shore Pharmacy and Health Emporium, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary with 25 percent off all non-prescription products Tuesday through Saturday.
They enjoy what they do too much to retire just yet. They like visiting with customers who walk through their doors. They look forward to the challenges that come their way every day. They think about the past 25 years and smile. They hope, they believe, they have made a difference in the health of a community.
“It’s a dream come true to have lived here 25 years and just to look back on all the things we’ve done, you feel like you’re part of something special,” Mike said.
More than part of something special. They lived it. And they’ve got more yet to do.
“It’s our life,” Sheree said.
