New Owners of Julian Drug Store
By Amber Ward

Jim Turlo, along with his wife, Evelyn (not pictured), now own the Julian Drug Store. Photo by Amber Ward

The Julian Drug Store has new owners, Jim and Evelyn Turlo.

The Turlos live in Ramona and for years worked in San Diego. Jim worked previously as vice president of marketing with Cymer, a company that specializes in making computer chips.

After being laid off from the company, Jim was looking to retire when he and his wife decided to buy an established business instead. The couple frequented Julian as bicycle enthusiasts

and like the idea of "commuting the opposite direction."

During the interim of Jim's being laid off and purchasing the drug store, Jim worked as a small business consultant.

"I was looking to put my own ideas to the test. I wanted to buy a business that fit the general financial and operational principles that I had in mind," says Jim.

The Turlos looked at a variety of businesses and jumped at the opportunity to purchase the Julian Drug Store.

"The Julian Drug Store was a fine business. Our goal was to increase activity within the store and we have had good results, in fact tremendous results so far," comments Jim.

The Turlos' main goal with the Julian Drug Store revolves around inventory management. "I am looking to find what are the lead products and to manage them with the newly installed computer system," says Jim. He has also made some changes with displays and made some items more accessible inside the store.

As owners of an already successful business, the Turlos are looking for ways to lower costs in the store. Using the Internet, Jim is searching for vendors that would allow him to make decisions about volume and not just cost when purchasing for the store.

"My goal is to reduce costs on high-turn over items so I can pass the savings on to the community," says Jim. So far, he has been able to reduce prices on more than 50 items in the store and gladly offers a 10 percent discount to all locals who ask.

The Julian Drug Store was first opened in the 1930s, and even before that it was the Joseph Marks Mercantile store. The Turlos are looking to continue the long tradition of serving the community, something that the Julian Drug Store has done well in the past.