My maternal grandfather owned his own pharmacy in the mid-1900's, then my uncle took it over when my grandfather retired. My uncle then sold to a chain when he retired. My father owned his own store through the 1980's, then sold to a chain. I was young at the time, but I remember my father saying that independent stores don't have enough cash flow because most prescriptions go through insurance companies, which wasn't the case when my grandfather was a pharmacist. Throughout the 1990's, I watched the last few independents sell to chains or close.
The only independent pharmacy I know of where I live now is a compounding store. I think it's sad that big business has made the independent stores obsolete.