Harbor Pharmacy to move; owners buy former Wells Fargo building

Harbor Pharmacy is moving two blocks down the street into the long-vacant Wells Fargo Bank building.

Breanne Scribner and Lindsey Lynam opened Harbor Pharmacy in late 2021 in the Harbor Centre on Water Street. Scribner said this week that she and Lynam recently bought the former Wells Fargo building at 400 E. Main Street.

Scribner said the pharmacy hopes to relocate to its new location sometime this summer following renovation work. The partners are eyeing a fall opening date, she said.

According to records at the Pasquotank Register of Deeds Office, Harbor Pharmacy, or JARZ LLC, purchased the former bank building for $520,000 after it was listed for sale last September for $559,000. The building has been vacant since 2020 when the bank closed and it was purchased by local developer and businessman Paul Robinson in 2021.

The almost 15,000-square-foot, two-story brick building was built in 1968 and sits on a half-acre lot.

The around 6,900-square foot first floor currently has seven offices, reception and waiting rooms and restrooms. The second floor has nine offices, three large multi-purpose rooms, a conference room, reception area and two restrooms. The building’s parking lot has 17 spaces.

Harbor Pharmacy will occupy around 5,500 square feet on the first floor, more than doubling its 2,500-square-foot space at Harbor Centre. Scribner said the Twiford Law firm will lease the rest of the first floor. Twiford is moving from its current location at 203 N. Road Street after selling the property to Pasquotank County for $500,000.

Assistant County Manager John Shannon said Pasquotank will use the former law office property for a variety of uses.

“The county offered $500,000 for the Twiford property and that offer was accepted,” Shannon said. “The property will be utilized to meet the space needs for the Sheriff’s Office, parking needs for the downtown county facilities and serve as the first step toward addressing the Board of Elections’ space needs.”

Scribner said the pharmacy was in need of more space and that the former bank building was a perfect fit. She said having a drive-up window and ample parking helped seal the deal.

“We have been growing since we opened and we have had great community support,” Scribner said. “We are continuing to grow and we knew we were outgrowing our space. It was the perfect decision for us.”

Some of the renovation work on the first floor includes new flooring and painting. Scribner said the Twiford Law Firm will have its own entrance to its offices.

“There are a couple of walls that we will have to take down and there is some framing that we will have to do,” Scribner said. “We are trying to keep some of the original features of the building intact. It’s mostly cosmetic.”

Scribner said the extra space will allow for the pharmacy’s gift shop to expand its offerings while making the pharmacy more customer and work friendly.

“We are redesigning the pharmacy so it flows better for us, and the gift shop is getting bigger,” Scribner said.

Plans for the second floor of the building have not been finalized. Scribner said that is something that will be determined in the months ahead.

“Right now, our focus is getting the pharmacy up and running,” she said. “Right now, for the upstairs, there is no plan.”

Scribner and Lynam became friends while growing up in Elizabeth City and both were pharmacists at Todd’s Pharmacy before it closed in 2021 and was sold to CVS.

The pair are currently the only two pharmacists at Harbor Pharmacy but Scribner hopes they can add another pharmacist in the future.

“We hope to get to that at some point down the road but for now it will just be us,” Scribner said.