Alphonse Muto Jr. and Alphonse Muto

After two years at an area community college, he chose to attend the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences “because of its location and reputation.

“I was driven to become a pharmacist and open my own practice from the beginning,” he said.

After graduation, he did just that, becoming the owner of Pine Pharmacy, with two locations—one in the Walker Center in Williamsville and the other in Niagara Falls.

Using what he learned at UB, he’s built both into businesses with stellar reputations. Later joined by his son, Alfonse Muto Jr., who graduated from the UB pharmacy school in 2008, Muto ensured the success of the two stores by designing each to offer a unique set of services to its customers.

“I have always looked for niches and decided over 20 years ago that compounding could separate me from chain pharmacies, so I pursued it heavily,” Muto said.

“In the Williamsville store, where my son, Alfonse, works, we offer compounding only, with a strong emphasis on nutrition,” Muto said. “My Niagara Falls store is retail, with a strong emphasis on home health care. We also offer other services involving nutrition and bio-identical hormone replacement, to name a few. “

Muto recently donated $125,000 to name the Pine Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Care Learning Center Classroom in the Pharmacy Building. Muto said he made the gift because he credits his business success to the education he received from UB pharmacy.

“I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for my acceptance to and completion of the pharmacy program,” Muto said. “My donation is a way for me and my family to give back and hopefully inspire others to do the same, as UB enters the 21st century as one of the most respected programs nationally.

A member of the Coordinated Care Network (CCN), Muto has been a loyal supporter of UB pharmacy through the years. He has been a member of the Willis G. Gregory Society since 2011 and Pine Pharmacy also has supported the Annual Student Scholarship Golf Tournament.

Through supporting the new learning center classroom, the solid reputation of Muto and his son, and their businesses, can only grow.