2 pharmacists turn old mill into thriving distillery in Franklin

FRANKLIN – For a lot of people, the pandemic gave them a chance to explore, but for one couple it doubled their passions.

Beth and Pat Downing are longtime pharmacists who met in college.

“It’s a lot of chemistry, you know mostly chemistry, and fortunately I had a lab partner who was helpful,” Pat told WBZ-TV.

From there, they went on to run the McClellan Drug Store in Lee, out in western Massachusetts. It’s one of the oldest drug stores in the state. Time passed and they decided to pivot. Pat always wanted to open a distillery.

“So then in 2018, he went to Moonshine University, which is a week long (program),” Beth said. “It’s called Moonshine University and it’s in Louisville, Kentucky,” Pat said.

They transformed a 19th century mill in Franklin into the thriving GlenPharmer Distillery. Now as more people step out for entertainment the Downings can greet them with smiles.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to be in a community and a regional area that has embraced us and embraced what we are doing,” Pat said.

“It’s so different from pharmacy in that regard, for the social piece and yet, the customer side of things is very similar. It’s been really fun. I love it,” Beth told WBZ-TV.

So now Beth and Pat have two passions that they love and enjoy.

“I love pharmacy, we love pharmacy. We are still in pharmacy, and we love this too,” Pat said.

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