Many years ago–around 1950, after signing up for a Pharmacy course at George Washington University, D.C.. I decided to accept a job with District Wholesale Drug,= a DC Drug wholesaler who sold pharmaceuticals and other normal health and beauty aids to the many small drug stores in the Washington, Maryland, Virginia area..I became acquainted with the many different drugs ,medications, popular items sold to the many large and small drug stores.
I got the opportunity, with the help of my older pharmacist brother who owned and operated three small pharmacies in the D.C area to purchase a small drug store –lunch counter at 2518 14th Street, called Smith Pharmacy.
I hired a pharmacit Doc Martin L Jones whom I had met some day ago. Doc Jones had operated a small pharmacy on U Street, N.W. in D.C.
I located some experienced lunch counter young ladies that helped me establish a busy food counter. I offered for sale 15 cent hamburgers, breakfast specials, and other popular lunch specials.
My pharmacy did not fill many prescriptions but Doc Jones promoted and sold many generic ever day health vitamins,cold remedies, and cough syrups, PROVIDED BY A SPECIAL WHOLESALER..
A drug store chain, Peoples’s. opened more pharmacies-another chain -called Drug Fair Pharmacies also expanded.
A pharmacist Herb Haft opened a DISCOUNT TYPE DRUG CHAIN CALLED DART DRUG AND SPECIALIZED IN DISCOUNTING VITAMINS.
A Pharmacist called Leonard Rodman began discounting appliances in one drug store and opened some other pharmacies featuring and discounting outher products.
At one point a large Discount drug chain called CVS purchased the Peoples Drug Store chain in the DC area and continued to grow in size in other American cities.In some cases CVS absorbed some small drug stores that had purchases the prescription files of closing small drug stores.
SOME LARGE PHARMACY CHAINS STILL EXIST-MANY SMALL DRUG STORES ARE GONE.
THE CVS PHARMACY DRUG CHAIN CONTINUES TO EXPANDS ITS HEALTH BENEFITS OF ESTABLISHING SOME NURSE STATIONS WITH NURSES PRESENT TO ASST THEIR CUSTOMERS WITH HEALTH QUESTIONS—-DELIVER FILLED PRESCRIPTIONS, A SERVICE THAT SOME SMALL DRUG STORES PERFORM ——–AND SOME CVS PHARMACISTS CAN GIVE YOU A FLU OR PNEUMONIA SHOT.