Our story · Since 1960
Aquí te entienden.
Here, you're understood.
Since 1960, Shipman's has cared for the families of Hempstead the way they deserve to be cared for.
The founder
It began with a pharmacist who understood his neighbors.
Claude Anthony Shipman Sr. grew up in Brooklyn admiring Julian McBrowne, then the borough's only Black pharmacist. He earned his own degree in 1954 and went on to own community pharmacies for more than thirty years, Shipman's among them.
In his pharmacy, every customer was greeted by name, and seniors who couldn't make the trip had their medicine brought to the door.
The mentee
A mentee became the owner.
Henry P. Cunningham came to Brooklyn from Panama at eleven and grew up between two languages and two traditions of healing. He earned his pharmacy degree in 1983 and, shortly after, bought Shipman's from his mentor. He owned it for 43 years.
He studied herbal and holistic medicine because his patients already trusted the remedies their families had used for generations. He never dismissed them. He learned how to make both work, safely, together.
Today
Still family. Still the same promise.
Today his daughter, Arquita Cunningham, and her husband, Allan Spooner, own and lead Shipman's.
- Spanish spoken every day we're open
- A full review of everything your family takes, prescribed and traditional, without judgment
- Free delivery across Hempstead
- Blood pressure checks, flu and COVID testing, and vaccines. Walk in.
- Fair prices. Ask, and we'll match a nearby pharmacy.
Three owners. One promise.