Member Spotlight: Oswald’s Pharmacy
A Century and a Half of Care in Naperville
Walk through the doors of Oswald’s Pharmacy and you will feel it right away. The comfort of a place that knows your name. The energy of a store that still believes a neighborhood shop can anchor a whole community. The joy of a team that wants to help with life’s everyday needs and its biggest moments. This is what 150 years of independent pharmacy looks like in Naperville. It is local. It is personal. It is alive.
Oswald’s Pharmacy 1915
Oswald’s Pharmacy 1960
Oswald’s Pharmacy Today
Owner Alex Anderson talks about the milestone and how it starts with the people who have kept the doors swinging open. “It’s just exciting for customers who have been with us a long time to be here during this milestone.” It is also a moment to invite new neighbors into a tradition that has always been part shop and part gathering place. “Most old timers know Oswald’s, but to people who are newer to town, it’s a great opportunity to introduce new community members to the pharmacy.”
Oswald’s began in 1875 and has been guided by the same family for six generations. Alex carries that line forward with a simple truth. “I’m so proud to be the sixth-generation owner of the pharmacy.” Longevity is not an accident. It comes from a way of doing business that puts people first and keeps faith with a city that has grown from a small town into one of the largest communities in Illinois. Naperville changes. Oswald’s adapts and keeps its center.
That center shows up in small moments that linger. A caregiver once stopped at the counter to share that her mother had passed. Alex remembers what happened next because it captures the heart of the place. “The pharmacist, the technicians, everyone came out from behind the pharmacy and gave me a hug.” It is hard to measure gestures like that, yet they say everything about the culture. The team does not just count prescriptions. They see people. They listen. They help families through hard days and good ones.
The work is never only about a prescription. Oswald’s looks at all the ways a neighborhood relies on a trusted store and keeps building what the community needs. “It’s beyond just our full-service pharmacy with vaccines. We still do free deliveries to the local community.” They even run a full-service United States Post Office inside the store. For many families, Oswald’s is the place where the to-do list gets a little shorter and life gets a little easier.
A major part of that evolution has been medical equipment. Oswald’s has long carried these items, but the last decade brought a leap forward. “We’ve dramatically expanded into that in the past decade. We opened a 5,000 square foot showroom in 2015.” The showroom is not just a sales floor. It is a space where expertise meets compassion. Staff members take time to explain options, adjust devices, and make sure people leave with confidence and dignity. The team added a second medical equipment location in 2023 to reach more families who need help with mobility and safety.
This shift does something else important. It strengthens the mission in a tough reimbursement landscape. “Doing cash retail medical equipment I think has been such a huge help.” Many items are not covered the way patients expect. “With Medicare, you only get a mobility device once every five years.” Oswald’s fills the gap with a wide selection and hands-on guidance, so people can get what they need without delay.
Walk a little farther and you notice another Oswald’s hallmark. The front end feels like a joyful treasure hunt. Alex describes it in one word. “It’s very curated.” Gifts, toys, cards, and hometown finds are chosen with care. You can pick up medicine, mail a package, grab a birthday present, and discover a Naperville puzzle you did not know you wanted. It sounds simple, yet it reflects a philosophy that reaches back to the earliest days of the store. Make it useful. Make it delightful. Make it local.
The 150th celebration turns that philosophy outward and invites the city to celebrate together. The team has been sharing old photos, artifacts, and stories every day online as a countdown to the big weekend. “One hundred fifty days leading up to the celebration we’re doing posts every day.” They also partnered with Naper Settlement on a time capsule that will rest in the foundation of the original building. It is a way to honor the past and to say thank you to the generations who helped shape the store and the town.
Alex lights up when he talks about the creative side of small business. “I consider myself an armchair designer.” When operations get intense, he finds joy in building things that connect people to place. Old time labels for soda. Custom puzzles that celebrate Naperville landmarks. Little touches that make a big store feel like a friend’s living room. Those pieces also support local history and nonprofit work, a reminder that the shop is part of a larger civic story.
Support from partners matters in a year like this. Oswald’s has long relied on Independent Pharmacy Cooperative for daily needs and for milestone moments. “We get shipments from IPC Warehouse every day that we need in the pharmacy to take care of our patients.” Reliability behind the scenes lets the staff focus on care at the counter. It keeps the shelves ready. It keeps promises to customers.
Of course, none of this happens without a team that believes in the mission. Alex has worked in big organizations and in this family business. The contrast is clear. Employees at Oswald’s are treated like people, not parts. Growth is encouraged. First jobs lead to proud careers. “Having a good staff is important and something we work hard on hiring people that fit in and are just friendly.”
What does the next chapter look like? The answer starts with the same commitments that brought Oswald’s to 150. “The focus of being kind and understanding and caring deeply for your community.” That means taking time for real conversations about medications. That means keeping free prescription delivery. That means being willing to try new ideas when the neighborhood needs something different. “Being willing to take those risks.” Try a new service. Test a new category. If it works, keep going. If not, learn and move forward.
That willingness to build what is missing creates a kind of retail you cannot copy and paste. The store will keep investing in products and experiences that are unique to Oswald’s and Naperville. As Alex says, “It’s going to be a unique location that can’t be replicated online or in another store in the community.” That line captures the heart of the business plan and the community promise. Make it special. Make it ours.
If you want to understand what 150 years really means, it is not a number. It is the caregiver who found comfort in a hug. It is the mobility device that made stairs feel possible again. It is a puzzle that becomes a keepsake. It is the pharmacist who remembers your name and the technician who remembers your story. It is the way a family-owned shop shows up for a city every day.
Naperville has changed a lot since 1875. Oswald’s has changed with it and for it. The anniversary weekend will be full of photos and smiles and memories. The real celebration happens each time a neighbor walks in and feels at home. That feeling is the legacy. That feeling is the future.
