The long road to a new pharmacy in Montauk, following the October 2024 closure of White’s Drug and Department Store, paid off last year when Montauk Chemists opened on the hamlet’s Main Street.
Now, the pharmacist Frank Calvo’s efforts, and patience, have been recognized by New York State. Mr. Calvo, who for 13 years was the pharmacist at White’s, learned this month that the State Small Business Development Center has named Montauk Chemists its 2026 Rural Small Business of the Year.
The S.B.D.C. provides no-cost, one-on-one business counseling, training, and research to small business owners and entrepreneurs. It operates regional centers and satellite locations across the state to help businesses with planning, capital acquisition, marketing, and government contracting.
Montauk was without a pharmacy from the time White’s closed until last June. Mr. Calvo had announced in the fall of 2024 that he would open Montauk Chemists at 725A Montauk Highway, initially hoping for an opening in December of that year or January 2025 at the latest. Numerous regulatory hurdles delayed the opening, however.
“It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been nominated by Regional Director Willa Smith from the Long Island S.B.D.C. at Stony Brook and selected as the 2026 NYSBDC Rural Business of the Year,” Sonya Smith, the S.B.D.C.’s State director, wrote to Mr. Calvo on April 1. “Your work represents the critical role small businesses play in sustaining and strengthening rural communities. By addressing a vital health care gap and overcoming significant financial challenges, you have brought essential services back to your community.”
“Your determination, resourcefulness, and commitment to service exemplify the impact of rural entrepreneurship,” Ms. Smith continued.
“It’s been a very, very long process,” Mr. Calvo said this week. “It took a year to get open, to be acknowledged by the state. It took a year and two months to be a pharmacy, and took a year and a half to be online with all the commercial insurance companies.” Now, he said, “we’re seeing the influx of people, and the regular Montauk people are coming back in, which is wonderful.”