There was a time before every pharmacy you saw had a CVS or a Walgreens logo. There was a time before everything was the same chain, no matter what corner of the country you found yourself in.
There were once all kinds of drugstore chains out there, but some of them are all but a memory now. Feeling nostalgic? Here are 10 now-defunct pharmacy chains you may remember.
Revco
Founded: 1956
Shuttered: 1997
Approximate Peak Locations: 2,500
Revco was an Ohio chain, though it spread beyond and into the Southeast. It went bankrupt in the ’80s and was later purchased by CVS for a casual $2.8 billion.
Rexall
Founded: 1903
Shuttered: 1985
Approximate Peak Locations: 12,000
Founded under the retailers’ cooperative United Drug Stores and headquartered in Boston, Rexall had drugstores all over the country. There was even a Rexall Train at one point during the Depression. In the ’70s, they went downhill and died one by one. There are a few privately franchised locations out there, but they’re essentially extinct.
Eckerd Pharmacy
Founded: 1898
Shuttered: 2007
Approximate Peak Locations: 2,800
In Florida, Texas, and other areas of the Southeast, Eckerd was everywhere. Rite Aid gobbled them up, just as it gobbled so many others up.
Thrifty & Pay Less
Founded: 1929 & 1932
Shuttered: 1994
Approximate Peak Locations: 500 & 200
Thrifty was born in Los Angeles and grew to 500 stores before it merged with Payless ShoeSource and became the cleverly titled Thrifty PayLess company. Then, two years later, guess who nabbed them? Yup. Rite Aid.
You can still get Thrifty ice cream at Rite Aid, by the way. And you should, because it’s some of the best ice cream you can eat.
Long’s Drugs
Founded: 1938
Shuttered: 2008
Approximate Peak Locations: 500
Long’s dominated Hawaii and the West Coast, and while it became CVS on the mainland, it’s still Long’s in Hawaii.
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Adams Drug Company
Founded: 1932
Shuttered: 1986
Approximate Peak Locations: 500
Adams Drug, which was born in Rhode Island and became popular in New England, eventually became Brooks Pharmacy, and then, by 2007, big bad Rite Aid came knockin’.
Drug Emporium
Founded: 1977
Shuttered: 2003
Approximate Peak Locations: 300
Drug Emporium had a significant presence in the Midwest, but by 2001, they were filing for bankruptcy. A few years later, almost every last one of ‘em was gone.
Fay’s Drug
Founded: 1958
Shuttered: 1997
Approximate Peak Locations: 270
Upstate New York was home to plenty of Fay’s Drug stores. In the mid-’90s, JCPenney bought them out and then turned them into either a CVS or a Rite Aid, depending on the region.
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Perry Drug Stores
Founded: 1957
Shuttered: 1995
Approximate Peak Locations: 200
This was the biggest pharmacy chain in Michigan in the ’80s, but I’ll give you one guess as to who bought it in 1995. It rhymes with bite-bade.
Arbor Drug
Founded: 1963
Shuttered: 1998
Approximate Peak Locations: 200
CVS spent $1.4 billion to acquire Arbor Drug, another major Michigan drugstore. When the big corporations swoop, they swoop hard.
More Retail Nostalgia From Cheapism
- 8 Once-Loved Music Stores That No Longer Exist — Travel back in time with a trip through your favorite record stores that have disappeared.
- Once-Loved Shopping Mall Stores That Are Gone Forever — Chances are, you probably spent more time than you care to admit at some of these long-gone mall stores.
- 17 Once-Loved Grocery Stores That Are Gone Forever — From A&P to Victory Supermarkets, these grocery store chains are gone from the neighborhood but forever in our memories.
