Our Story
Three generations of family ownership, serving the Space Coast since 1964
The Beginning
The Hobbs Pharmacy story begins in 1964, at a moment when Merritt Island stood at the threshold of human achievement. While America was preparing to land a man on the moon, Gary K. Hobbs opened a full-service drug store on this barrier island that had become the center of the Space Race.
Astronauts’ wives stopped in while their husbands orbited Earth. Engineers picked up prescriptions between rocket launches. Alongside his wife Patricia “Pat” and their four children, Gary created a place of reassurance during uncertain times.
That spirit (personal, steady, deeply human) became the foundation. As rockets launched nearby, Hobbs Pharmacy became the kind of cornerstone that transforms a collection of houses into a neighborhood.
Growing Into the Future
As NASA expanded and Merritt Island evolved from launch site to hometown, Hobbs Pharmacy evolved with it. After 25 years of building trust, prescription by prescription, Gary passed the reins to his son Mark Hobbs, who had grown up inside the pharmacy.
Mark understood that a family business isn’t about preserving the past. It’s about honoring founding principles while adapting to what comes next. Under his leadership, Hobbs expanded beyond traditional retail pharmacy to offer infusion therapy, medical equipment, and compounding, while keeping personal relationships at the heart of everything.
In 2009, the pharmacy expanded into its current location next door, introducing a USP 797 compliant sterile compounding room and expanded clinical services. This was the pivot that would define the next decade.
The Hobbs Family Team
The Homegrown Partnership
In 2019, Eric Russo, PharmD, became co-owner alongside Mark Hobbs. Eric was a Merritt Island native, a graduate of Merritt Island High School and the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, who had first joined the pharmacy in 1996 as a pharmacy student.
He understood something that corporate pharmacy had forgotten: healthcare is profoundly local. With deep local roots and strong clinical vision, Eric helped expand custom compounding, grow clinical services, and position Hobbs for the future of individualized medicine.
As healthcare became more impersonal, Hobbs leaned into personalization. Custom compounding moved from a specialized service to a cornerstone.
Eric Russo Partnership, 2019
The Third Generation
In 2025, the story came full circle when Garrett Hobbs, Mark’s oldest son, joined the leadership team, bringing the third generation into the business.
Garrett brought a strong business and operations lens to ensure sustainable growth, along with the infrastructure to scale compounding and clinical services while maintaining the personal touch.
Three Generations of Hobbs Leadership
The Full Circle
In 2026, a state-of-the-art compounding suite opened in the original Hobbs Pharmacy location, the very place where Gary K. Hobbs first served the Space Coast community in 1964.
Innovation returning to its birthplace. Advanced sterile and non-sterile compounding capabilities, modern technology and quality systems, all housed where astronauts’ families once sought comfort during the Space Race.
State-of-the-Art Compounding Suite, 2026
Today’s Hobbs Pharmacy
Today, Hobbs Pharmacy stands as proof that the independent pharmacy isn’t dead. It’s evolving.
We are a trusted hometown pharmacy with roots in the Space Race. We are a recognized leader in custom compounding and clinical services. We are a pharmacy where patients are known, not numbered.
Our clinical team provides comprehensive medication management and wellness consultations. We integrate compounding into whole-person care, treating you as the unique individual you are. Cutting-edge pharmaceutical customization meets old-fashioned care.
What We Stand For
Personal Care
Three generations of family ownership means we treat every patient like family (because in our community, you are).
Innovation
From serving astronauts in the ’60s to pioneering custom compounding today, we’ve always embraced what’s next while honoring what matters.
Trust
Sixty years of keeping our promises, one prescription at a time. That’s the kind of trust you can’t buy—you have to earn it.
Experience the Hobbs Difference
From the Space Race to today, we’ve been here for our community. Let us be here for you.
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