CVS/Longs buys Mina Pharmacy chain

Mina Pharmacy has announced Longs Drugs is acquiring the pharmacy operation of all 10 Mina Pharmacy stores statewide, including the two Big Island stores.

In a statement, Mina’s owners, Adel Etinas and Hany Guirguis, said they chose Longs, which is owned by CVS Health of Woonsocket, R.I., after considering what was best for Mina’s employees and customers.

“It’s been a privilege for us to serve this community for the past 18 years, and we owe it to our customers to ensure that they will continue to receive the highest quality of care,” said Etinas. “We spent a lot of time evaluating several options, and Longs Drugs was the best choice for our patients and our employees.”

The monetary value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Mina Pharmacy’s two Big Island stores, in the Hilo Shopping Center and in the Pottery Terrace Neighborhood Center in Kailua-Kona, will be re-branded as Longs Pharmacy, and patients’ prescription and insurance information will be transferred to Longs on Monday.

Four Mina Pharmacy locations, all on Oahu, will close. Affected employees were offered other positions.

Etinas and Guirguis, both Egyptian-born pharmacists, started Mina Pharmacy in 1998 to provide service they felt was lacking at the large chain drugstore pharmacies. They named Mina Pharmacy after an Egyptian saint.

Longs Drug Stores, originally a California chain started in 1938, opened its first Hawaii store in 1954. Longs was acquired by CVS Health in 2008. CVS continued the Longs brand in its Hawaii operations.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.