IPC Member Spotlight: Webster’s Community Pharmacy
Some businesses mark a century with a plaque on the wall. Webster’s Community Pharmacy marked theirs with three bands, a block party, local artists, fire-affected restaurant vendors, and an entire community that showed up, some visiting the burnt lots where their homes once stood, just to celebrate something that was still standing.
That says everything you need to know.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
In 1926, a pharmacist and entrepreneur named Frank Webster opened a pharmacy in Altadena, California. That quickly became something much bigger than a place to pick up a prescription. Webster’s grew into a full community hub, complete with a soda fountain, cosmetics, photo supplies, and even a liquor counter. During Prohibition, Webster’s earned a distinction few businesses could claim it became one of only two pharmacies in the San Gabriel Valley authorized to dispense medicinal liquor. From day one, Webster’s was woven into the fabric of this community.
Bill Webster and registered pharmacist in charge, Richard Lee Holtine, in April 1966. Courtesy of the Altadena Historical Society.
When Frank Webster passed away at a young age, his son Bill stepped in at just 19 years old and carried the business forward for decades. It was Bill who, in 2010, offered pharmacist Michael Miller the chance to purchase the business. Michael had already built and sold Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in South Pasadena, a beloved independent for nearly 20 years, and he had been serving as pharmacist-in-charge at Webster’s as what he calls “a part-time retirement job.” When Bill was ready to pass the torch, Michael and his wife Meredith said yes without hesitation.
“It was our goal to bring it back to the iconic business it was thought of in the community,” Michael shared.
SMALLER, BUT STRONGER
The Millers wasted no time. They modernized the pharmacy with state-of-the-art dispensing technology, introduced vaccinations, home delivery, and medical supplies, and leaned into what made Webster’s truly unique: the front end. Meredith, with over 35 years of experience in the gift industry, transformed the shelves into a curated wonderland of retro candy, greeting cards, local artisan goods, jewelry, and home accents. Webster’s became the kind of place you walk in for a prescription and walk out carrying something you didn’t know you needed but absolutely love.
In 2017, they launched the Beautiful Altadena 91001 merchandise line, donating proceeds to local nonprofits including the Altadena Heritage Society and Historical Society. By 2018, the recognition followed: California Small Business of the Year (Assembly District 41) and Altadena Business of the Year.
Then the property changed hands. Developers purchased the building. The lease ended. Webster’s was at a crossroads.
“We had even considered selling to Rite Aid,” Michael admitted. “But we said, ‘It’s not time. We want to get to a hundred.'”
They found a new space at Chase Plaza, just half a block from the original location, and moved in May 2024. Smaller footprint, same big heart. They called it exactly what it was: smaller, but stronger.
WHEN THE FIRE CAME
On January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena. Everything around Webster’s Community Pharmacy burned. Homes, businesses, years of memories, gone. By some miracle, the new location was spared.
Michael got in through National Guard and Sheriff’s Department checkpoints, grabbed the pharmacy computer, and drove it to a colleague’s pharmacy in Pasadena. For two months, Webster’s operated out of that small space, filling prescriptions and transferring hundreds of patient files so that not a single person experienced an interruption in their medications. Back at the Altadena location, everything had to be discarded, every medication, every gift item, every piece of inventory, and rebuilt from scratch.
“We were a beacon of hope for them,” Michael said. “We heard every story possible. A lot of hugs, a lot of tears.”
The community, 80% of whom were displaced, still came. They drove up to visit their burnt lots and stopped at Webster’s. Not because they had to. Because they wanted to support something that had always supported them.
Webster’s reopened on February 17, 2025, with full pharmacy operations, home delivery, and enhanced immunization services. They greeted their community with free coffee and donuts. The Beautiful Altadena 91001 merch line was relaunched with 100% of net proceeds going toward local business recovery and scholarships for Pasadena Unified School District students.
And in July 2025, something full-circle happened: a Village Post Office opened inside Webster’s Community Pharmacy, a nod to the general store roots Frank Webster planted 100 years ago.
THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT RUN
Behind the counter is a team that mirrors everything Webster’s stands for. Meredith drives the merchandising and social media with the eye of a seasoned creative. Michael oversees pharmacy operations alongside a full-time pharmacist and a dedicated staff that, in his own words, knows everybody who walks through the door. One team member, who has been with Webster’s for over 20 years, lost her home in the Eaton Fire. She kept showing up.
“I like to refer to it as the Cheers of Pharmacy, where everybody knows your name,” Michael said. “And it’s really true. That’s what independent pharmacy is all about.”
Webster’s serves generations. Grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren, all with their own memories of the same pharmacy, the same shelves, the same familiar faces.
PARTNERSHIP THROUGH IT ALL
When the fires hit, one of Michael’s first calls was to IPC. He asked if they could hold off on billing while Webster’s started over from scratch. They said yes. IPC’s support extended to the 100-year celebration as well, providing branded mugs with the centennial logo, a $100 gift card, and promotional materials for the event.
“IPC is a very strong partner for us, especially in community pharmacy,” Michael said. “When I call, I always get great attention. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership.”
LOOKING AHEAD
With 6,000 homes lost and roughly 1,000 already under reconstruction, Altadena is rebuilding. And Webster’s Community Pharmacy is going to be right there for every step of it.
“We’re there, and people know we’re there,” Michael said. “We feel like a beacon of light and hope and resilience for this town.”
His advice for fellow independent pharmacy owners? Be consistent. Show up in your community. Join local groups. Say yes when someone asks you to donate or get involved. Differentiate from the chains not just by what you dispense, but by who you are.
“When you get asked to be part of the community, jump at that chance,” he said. “That’s how you stay in business.”
One hundred years of serving Altadena. Here is to the next hundred.
