To some excerpts!
It is a familiar sight to anybody who has spent any time in this city: the ubiquitous drug store chain. This is the one business that seems immune to rent hikes or gentrification. The drug store shines in poor areas as well as rich ones. And it doesn’t seem to matter that the nearest competition is two or three blocks away. It doesn’t even seem to matter to a Duane Reade that the nearest competition is another Duane Reade.
And!
Another broker in the know pointed out that you can find a Duane Reade across the street from Walgreens in Union Square, because they have different customers—even if both sets are convenience-driven. Another retail specialist noted that perhaps one drug store chain could set up shop nearby a competitor, thinking the latter is underserved or its lease is coming due.
And, per the article, this drug store boom is happening all over the city, not just around these parts, where on Astor Place for example, there's a CVS going in at the IBM Watson Building/Death Star across the [construction zone] from Walgreens and Kmart (with its pharmacy area) ... Not to mention the recently expanded Walgreens on East 14th Street and Fourth Avenue … and the Duane Reade locations on East 14th Street and Third Avenue … and East 14th Street and Broadway ... and the Duane Reade that's rumored to be expanding on Third Avenue and East 10th Street. And the Duane Reade on Broadway near East 10th Street... and...
As for that incoming CVS on Astor Place... the plywood came down this week...
... and we've seen trucks unloading the CVSandise all week...
No official word on an opening date. But soon. And if our count is correct, this will mark Manhattan's 45th CVS. Still lagging behind the 91 Duane Reades though, per the Observer.
