Openings

World’s Poshest Walgreen’s Opens at State & Randolph

These Americans defeated Communism so you could get sushi from this Walgreen's at State & Randolph.
These Americans defeated Communism so you could get sushi from this Walgreen’s at State & Randolph. Photo: courtesy Chuckman’s Collection

Imagine being able to get fancy hooch at a Walgreen’s! Actually, given the chain’s foundation as a quasi-legal supplier of “medicinal” booze during Prohibition, it’s less an innovation than going back to their roots. But high-end swill ranging from local breweries like Goose Island and Two Brothers to reserve bottlings from the likes of Beringer and Penfolds is only part of what will distinguish a reopened Walgreen’s at State and Randolph (where a store stood from 1926 to 2005) from the place by your house where you go to get late-night cough syrup and have to check out at the camera counter because the person at the main register is paying for their Depends and Winstons in nickels. The fancy stuff, aimed at the fact that the Loop actually has people living in it who can afford such things, will include a sushi counter, a Metropolis coffee bar with barista, a self-serve fro-yo machine, fancy chocolates from the likes of Vosges and Katherine Anne Confections, baked goods from Lovely and Chicago Gourmet, and a much-expanded wine section with 400 offerings (compared with 70 in a typical Walgreen’s). The model for this store is apparently an expanded Duane Reade outlet in New York; Walgreen’s purchased Duane Reade in April, reportedly attracted by the east coast chain’s reputation for doing a far better job than Walgreen’s or rival CVS at marketing things like cosmetics. [Sun-Times]

World’s Poshest Walgreen’s Opens at State & Randolph