Annals of Island Pharmacies

Oliver and I stopped in at the “pharmacy formerly known as Pharmasave” in the Ellis Brothers Shopping Centre this afternoon only to find it re-branded at “Lawton’s.”

What’s more, our friendly Lawton’s cashier told us that with the rebranding comes a move to the old Home Hardware premises on the other side of the mall. The new store, she told us, will be much, much bigger, and will include non-pharmacy items like food and an expanded makeup section. Sounds like a run for the “everything you want in a drugstore” crowd that Shopper’s Drug mart so effectively consumes.

Speaking of Lawton’s: did you know that it’s a subsidiary of Sobeys? I didn’t.

And speaking of Island pharmacies: the big renovation at the Parkdale Pharmacy — a job that’s seems to have been going on for almost a year — looks like it’s nearing completion. As our family doctor has just moved in to the offices right next door, I suspect this cold and flu season we’ll be spending a lot of time buying Kleenex there.

And speaking of Shoppers Drug Mart, they’ve fallen down again in their Honest Tea stocking. They had a shipment it about 3 weeks ago, and I bought a good chunk of it, but they’ve been sold out for the last two weeks. I wonder why the giant glaring tea-less whole in the health foods cooler doesn’t prompt someone to make an order?

Comments

Mark's picture
Mark on November 10, 2005 - 03:18 Permalink

I would suggest Friendly Pharmacy all the way, just big enough to suit your needs but not big enough to forget that they are a drug store first.

DerekMac's picture
DerekMac on November 10, 2005 - 22:49 Permalink

Another alternative is Sobeys Pharmacy. I need food more often than I need pharmaceuticals, so chances are I’m going there anyway. I don’t really have a lot of interest in the things stocked in a normal “pure” pharmacy, but at Sobeys I can do something useful while waiting i.e. get the ingredients for tonight’s supper. Added bonus — they’re not very busy, so, for those few times that I don’t need groceries, I can get out quickly (hint:you can usually persuade them to ring in a few groceries when you pay at the pharmacy counter, saving a wait up front). They also give out Air Miles, which are certainly more useful for me (I can redeem them for groceries) that those Optimum Points at SDM.