In 2011, Jen Manning purchased Blakes Pharmacy in Potts Point, a Sydney suburb which blends into the iconic Kings Cross district and is home to a large LGBTQIA+ community.
Established in the 1960s, Blakes Pharmacy remains a muchloved local institution — even as the neighbourhood around it has transformed dramatically over the past decade.
Once known for its late-night clubs and all-hours crowds, Potts Point is now a blend of long-term locals, young families, older residents and a strong queer community.
Jen has watched this evolution from behind the counter, and has shaped the pharmacy into a safe, open and deeply connected part of the area’s fabric.
No judgement
As an openly gay pharmacy owner, Jen is dedicated to creating a safe, non-judgemental space where people feel comfortable to be honest about their sexuality and health.
“You want to be comfortable in your health care,” she says.
“I remember being asked questions and feeling judged by doctors about my responses. “If you don’t open clear pathways for communication, then people aren’t honest with you.”
Her approach has helped cement Blakes as a trusted hub for LGBTQIA+ patients, travellers seeking sexual health support, and locals who simply want a pharmacist who listens without judgement.
Award winners
Known for aligning her business model to meet the needs of her diverse, metropolitan community, Jen’s team has been recognised with the customer satisfaction award, Best Pharmacy in the City of Sydney, in 2024 and 2025.
Proving to be humble when asked how it feels to win the award twice, Jen says: “My team is the backbone of the store, and customers often stop me in the street to tell me how supportive my team is”.
The recognition reflects not only clinical excellence, but the atmosphere Jen has cultivated — warm, approachable, and deeply embedded in the rhythms of Potts Point life.
Hepatitis C treatment
While Blakes Pharmacy offers a wide range of clinical services — from vaccinations and opioid substitution therapy to pain management plans, Websterpaks and MedChecks — Jen is particularly proud of being an early adopter of Hepatitis C ‘treat-to-cure’ medications.
When direct-acting antivirals became available nearly a decade ago, they transformed the outlook for people living with Hepatitis C. But the high upfront cost of dispensing meant some pharmacies were cautious.
Jen chose to take on that risk. By building a close partnership with a local clinic, she helped ensure patients could start and complete treatment without barriers.
For many who had long felt overlooked, it created a clear and reliable pathway to care.
The pharmacy also keeps MS-2 Step in stock to ensure women accessing medical abortions, including those travelling from regional areas, can receive treatment without unnecessary delays or repeat visits.
Beyond branding
Always one to embrace the distinctive, Jen and her staff wear black Ben Casey jackets — a defining element of her brand and an instantly recognisable symbol in the community.
Paired with the pharmacy’s bold black-and-green delivery car, the jackets have become clear markers of Blakes’ presence throughout the neighbourhood.
But beyond the distinctive branding, Jen is best known for her judgement-free approach to community care.
She finds joy in the small, everyday interactions, whether it’s checking-in on someone doing it tough, or stopping for a chat in the street. “I’ve been invited to quite a few funerals along the way, and we have been mentioned at people’s funerals — and I like to think that maybe we made the end of their life a little easier,” she says.
Family ties
But becoming a pharmacist was never part of Jen’s plan.
Much of her youth was spent “cleaning sunglasses” in her dad’s busy pharmacy in Bermagui on the far south coast of New South Wales.
Motivated by human interaction and hands-on work, she soon realised the career options available through her original science degree weren’t exciting her.
She went back to study pharmacy before working in several community chemists around Sydney.
Her father, Mark Manning, a Pharmacy Guild of Australia Life Member Award recipient, is also co-owner of Blakes Pharmacy, and has been the long-time owner of pharmacies in the ski village of Thredbo as well as Bermagui.
Jen’s brother, also a pharmacist, is in the process of overtaking the Bermagui pharmacy.
“It seemed like dad thought it was a decent career – he enjoyed it,” Jen says.
“And I think a lot of people often go into the same fields as their parents – it plays a huge role in what your kids do.”
When asked if she hoped her twin sons would enter the profession, she says she is “open to it but always encourages them to do what makes them happy”.
