Williston Native Returns to Hometown for Pharmacy Opportunities

You could say Williston native Gabe Gratz knows his way around a pharmacy. The 31-year-old has been working in drugstores since he was just five years old. Of course, that was when his dad owned Western Dakota Pharmacy and Gabe's role was sprucing up the place. "I would come down and dust the shelves and later in high school I would make deliveries," said Gratz, R.Ph. "In fact, I have really only worked in pharmacies."

After graduating from Williston High School in 2001, Gratz followed in his dad's footsteps, graduating with a Doctorate in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University in 2007. That same year he married a high school classmate, Tara Watterson. Together they pursued their careers and started a family in Minnesota, but the entrepreneurial opportunities back in their hometown were hard to ignore.

"My Dad and I were making plans to open G&G Pharmacy, when the opportunity to purchase Service Drug presented itself.  From there things happened very quickly," explained Gratz.

In the end, Gerald (Jerry) Gratz, R.Ph, and his son decided to pursue both business ventures. Jerry operates the long-time Service Drug Pharmacy in Downtown Williston while Gabe runs the new G&G Pharmacy in the 20/20 Professional Center.

The new professional relationship between the father and son has allowed them to blend their traditional and modern approaches to the practice of pharmacy and customer service. "We wanted to offer the services that a lot of newcomers were already used to," said Gabe. "We are open seven days a week, we have a drive-thru which makes it a lot easier for mothers with small children and we provide additional pharmacy services such as immunizations and medication flavoring."

The two pharmacies also feature three ways to refill prescriptions: by phone, mobile app, or the web. In addition, they notify customers when their prescriptions are ready to be picked up via text messages.

But whether you prefer correspondence via your smartphone, tablet, or computer; a good old-fashioned conversation is always available. "One of the reasons I enjoy being a pharmacist is the relationships I have with my customers," said Gabe. The father of two young children has been working until 8 p.m. most nights at G&G Pharmacy. His wife often brings their daughter, Olivia, age 4 and son Hunter, age 2 to the store to visit. It may not be too long before one of them gets a start in the family business dusting shelves.

G&G Pharmacy is located at 1500 14th Street West Suite 150 (20/20 Profession Center.) The company's phone number is 701-572-7979