Yurek Pharmacy continues to rebuild following downtown fire

It has been over half a year since the Central Block Building in downtown St. Thomas was ravaged by fire on Dec. 18, 2025. Yurek Pharmacy, which is located adjacent to the now-demolished building, sustained extensive smoke and water damage...

It has been over half a year since the Central Block Building in downtown St. Thomas was ravaged by fire on Dec. 18, 2025. Yurek Pharmacy, which is located adjacent to the now-demolished building, sustained extensive smoke and water damage to their building as a result of the blaze. To this day, they are continuing to rebuild, all while operating at a reduced capacity.

“Starting from scratch, the whole store has been ripped back to the brick,” said Jeff Yurek, who co-owns Yurek Pharmacy with his brother, Peter. The west-side of their three-storey building is being restored, with a temporary wall blocking off where most of the shelves holding stock were on the main store level. Above the ground level is where the compounding for different medications is done.

During a tour of the building, Mr. Yurek explained the inside walls were “stripped to the wire.” The main focus as of now, according to a video from the pharmacy posted on social media, is to repair the exterior wall which separated them from the former Lucky Kitchen restaurant. Temporary siding is now in place.

“It’s not only the rebuild and renovation of the store, but all of our inventory had to be discarded as well,” said Mr. Yurek. “Inventory in the prescription medication alone was over $700,000.” Yurek not only operates a pharmacy to fill prescriptions for customers, but also offers home health care services and sells mobility devices like walkers.

Mr. Yurek added the loss in inventory extended to those as well. “Smoke damage is terrible. It seeps throughout the whole store,” he said.

“That’s why we got to pull everything off – all the drywall, all the rugs, all the floors – and rebuild because the smoke smell would stay in it.” Mr. Yurek stressed safety for staff and customers is of utmost importance during the process to make sure they are provided with a “safe environment.” “At the end of the day, we’re going to have a newly renovated, up-to-date pharmacy and be able to expand our services that we offer people throughout not only St. Thomas but Elgin County,” he said.

Construction “changes week to week,” said Mr. Yurek, with factors such as weather, insurance companies and City Hall matters all playing a part. “We’re probably looking into late fall this year that we’ll be mostly up and running and probably into 2027 when we’re fully operational again,” he added. Yurek Pharmacy is operating through the restoration process, including filling prescriptions and offering home health care services.