Roving Rube Picture of the Day
11/24/01
There's a Duane Reade (or two) on your way
At the end of 2000, there were 103 Duane Reade drugstores in Manhattan, putting them well ahead of McDonald's and within hailing distance of Starbucks in the race for most ubiquitous. It would be an interesting challenge to try get from point A to B here without passing one; i.e. by the time you away from the Port Authority bus terminal, you will already have passed two -- one inside the terminal, and this one on the opposite corner of 42nd and 8th.
Their website mentions the store's ability to adapt to any location (this building was formerly a bank), high volume, and discount pricing as the keys to their success. The stores' name comes from the original downtown location between Duane and Reade streets.
The Rube can survive for extended periods on the discount-priced Duane Reade provisions (including the wholesome, if perhaps a tad salty, add-boiling-water Cha-Cha Chili) without having to visit one of Manhattan's mostly cramped and expensive supermarkets, or fabulously expensive convenience stores.
While as yet as little known outside of this area, it would not be surprising to see them start moving in on the some of the sleepy CVS or RiteAid outposts in the provinces.