Grand re-opening for burned-down community chemist

A community chemist "devastated" by a fire has reopened.

In January last year, flames tore through Euro Chemist on Berry Street, in Liverpool city centre. The pharmacy, known for its charity and close-knit group of patients, borders Chinatown and has served the area's population for 44 years.

Having been forced to work out of the basement for the previous 12 months, the shop finally reopened last week and has now scheduled a party for its customers and all those who showed support during the past year.

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Speaking to the ECHO ahead of the big day staff member Derryn Cottrill said: “After the fire we opened a temporary dispensary from the basement while we got back on our feet. The support has been fantastic from everyone and we’ve retained most of our patients.

“The event will have cakes, coffee and local GP staff. It’s basically a get-together to thank everyone for the support they’ve shown us over the past year."

Staff at Euro Chemist - which is seen by many as more of a community-minded health hub than a pharmacy - once won Pharmacy Business magazine's "team award" for their work over the pandemic. Members of the team are trained in Cantonese and Mandarin, and have produced a range of essential health information and support materials in various languages for their community.

They also hold tea mornings, charity events and even gardening clubs, and loyal customers are known to just pop in for a coffee and a catch-up.

Derryn said: “Before the fire we did charity events for asthma, mental health, helping elderly people to re-integrate with the community. We had to stop these but we’re looking