Drugstores Raise the Bar

Not much has happened with drugstores since the famed Le Drugstore atop the Champs-Elysées in Paris (now Publicis Drugstore) opened in 1958 when founder, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, created a new concept for Paris that became a legend. Today it houses a brasserie, a bookshop, a wine shop, two cinemas, a newsstand, and a high-end grocery store. The famed chef, Alain Ducasse, planned the menu; everything from grilled scallops to ham with truffles Ducasse-style is served here.

And then there’s Zitomer - New York’s three-story drugstore that’s more a mini department store than a pharmacy with everything from electronics to pet supplies. The first floor is where you’ll spend most of your time if you’re looking for beauty products galore. They even have their own very good line of cosmetics called Z New York.

That could be changing. According to the New Yorker the new, palatial Walgreens-owned Duane Reade on Wall Street not only has upscale groceries, a sushi chef, a juice and smoothie bar, but also a doctor and a host of beauty treatments, including hair treatments, skin analysis and manicures. Customers are welcomed to the 22,000 sq ft space by a Virtual Greeter, a hologram woman. Sounds like the next “destination” drugstore to us.