Orange County

Orlando mom and pop pharmacy adapts to survive COVID-19’s strain on small businesses

ORLANDO, Fla. — National Small Business Week kicked off Tuesday.

Like many small businesses in Central Florida, one mom and pop pharmacy is working hard to stay open during the pandemic.

Dr. Cheryl Rouse and her husband are the proud owners of C&C Community Pharmacy.

Watch: Coronavirus: US death toll tops 200,000

They’ve been in business for 28 years and have tried to create a family environment.

“We have to separate ourselves from big pharma,” Dr. Rouse said. “We offer free delivery. We have time to counsel our patients, and we have one-on-one interaction with our patients.”

But in March, COVID-19 brought the biggest change of all.

“We were nervous because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Dr. Rouse said.

CDC announces high and low risk Halloween activities amid COVID-19; trick-or-treating not recommended

Initially, Dr. Rouse said their door was locked, and no customers were allowed inside.

“We were still functioning, but over the counter products that I might sell, that went away,” Dr. Rouse said.

She said it took a toll. People weren’t getting their prescriptions as often.

“Even my deliveries were like no, don’t deliver just yet,” she said.

Coronavirus: CDC revises transmission guidance, removes update about COVID-19 spreading through aerosols

The small business owner didn’t sit and watch it happen. She got innovative, fast.

One customer is allowed in the pharmacy at a time, so they started doing curbside pickup.

Dr. Rouse said they changed their hours, so they could dedicate time at night to wiping down the pharmacy.

See the full report in the video above.