HOME GENTIER MERGHANT

Bill Fishman

Pill^fsltql &,Affiliatespatent medicines of the day. cod liver oil, 11650.lberia Pl"9:.^^ Lydia pinkham, Doanl's pills, Dr. San Diego, Ca. 92128 Lions Tooth powder, Ipana, pepsodent,

HEN PEARL Harbor was attacked I was in junior high school. I was also working in Meltzer's Drug Store in the Bronx, after school and on Saturdays. That was my first job. I made two bucks a week plus tips. It's been years since I thought about that drug store. It came to my mind today while I was shopping at a home center.

Meltzer's was the classic pre-war pharmacy. No soda fountain. It smelled hospital clean. It was my job to keep it that way. We used CN in the wash water as a disinfectant and each week I washed glass cases that covered all the perimeter walls within the store. The upper cases were hung from the ceiling. To reach them required a rolling ladder that hung from a railjust like at the library.

I'll bet there weren't 300 SKUs in that drug store. Mostly the cases contained the

Carter's Little Liver Pills, Ex-Lax, mustard plasters, Lifebuoy and Palmolive soaps, Vicks and hot water bottles. Mr. Meltzer and his assistant Joe mixed their prescriptions with a pestle and mortar. They also sold a lot of postage stamps, removed splinters from customer's eyes, and prescribed patent medicines for colds, coughs and backaches.

The newest store in my neighborhood today is a Sav-on. The sign above the door on the outside of this new building reads Sav-on drug store and home center. To the left and right of the entrance are other bold signs that read "Liquor," "Pharmacy," and "Garden Center." The store is beautiful. It's bright, clean, open and has nice wide aisles that make it easy to shop. The signing is simple, bold, easy to see and makes it easy to shop if you're in a rush, Sav-on Drugs is a chain of 165 stores.

Most are large, full line drug stores carrying the typical health and beauty aids and the more common nondrug hard lines and soft lines that you find in the l9E0s California supermarket and super drug store. This new store in my neighborhood, however, is one ofthe l7 Sav-ons that are also home centers.

About 15,000 square feet are devoted to the product lines you'd expect in a home center/building materials store. Of course, they're not totally complete. Don't expect to find enough material to build a garage or even a fence. Their paneling display is limited too. For amajor project I would still have to drive the 8 to l0 minutes to my nearest Handyman, Builder's Emporium, Dixieline or Boise Cascade.

But for the typical, everyday fix-up and maintenance needs this new Sav-on fills the bi[. They stock dimension lumber, moldings, doors, plywoods, a complete paint department, plumbing, electrical, tools, hardware, gardening supplies, outdoor furniture, wet nursery, automotive, pool and spa needs and the fast moving sporting goods and housewares. In most product categories they're more complete than the local Ace storethat used to be the only game in town. Sav-on people are a

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