Ian Ginsberg PH’85
Curating Quality at FamilyRun NYC Institution, C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries By Nick Light
On Sixth Avenue in the heart of Greenwich Village, a family-run apothecary has loyally served the storied neighborhood with personalized service through nearly 200 years of changing skyline and trends in both the pharmacy industry and customer demand. Inside the historic façade of C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, Mark Twain’s credit slip and Eleanor Roosevelt’s hand written note are part of an archive of ephemera from notable New Yorkers customers across many eras that also includes 1970s punk-rockers The New York Dolls and Saturday Night Live legend John Belushi. From an office above the shop, up several flights of stairs with ornamental wrought iron railings dating back to the 1800s, thirdgeneration President and CEO Ian Ginsberg PH’85 splits his time between tailoring the shop’s in-store experience and planning trips abroad to source inspiration for products unavailable at any of the thousands of chain pharmacies across Manhattan. C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries is a historic New York City institution, but even such a prestigious label sells it short. Similarly, to call Ginsberg anything less than an innovative entrepreneur at the helm of a storied, independent business is to tell only part of this fascinating story. The business that became C.O. Bigelow began as a small apothecary and neighborhood store in 1838. It was passed from owner to employees until 1939, when Ginsberg’s grandfather, William, and his brother-in-law Arthur Gross purchased the business. William’s son, Ian’s father, Jerry Ginsberg PH’52 enrolled in the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, which later became LIU Pharmacy, and took over the family business in the 1960s. Although he grew up in the store, Ginsberg was reluctant to become a pharmacist, instead setting his sights on a career as a professional musician. His parents encouraged him to get a professional degree just in case his music career did not end up providing for his family goals. Ginsberg enrolled at LIU Pharmacy in 1983, gigging as a jazz drummer on the side.
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SPRING 2015 | LIU MAGAZINE