The Holiday Season Begins

The CVS on the north side of Queens Blvd. wasted no time in clearing out all the unsold Halloween candy (50% off now, while supplies last) and the aisles have already been transformed into Christmas and Chanukah-land.

Drug Store Wars

I hadn't been in the Rite Aid at the corner of 71st/Continental and Austin in a really long time and was really impressed when I stepped inside today. I had heard there was a renovation going on but had forgotten. I guess they're stepping up their game before the new CVS opens across Queens Blvd. (When? That is taking forever to open.) Update: A reader tells me it is supposed to open August 6th.

And a reader sent me a photo of the outside of the new CVS, pointing out that new trees will be going in in front of it. He also says that Jay's Newstand is scheduled to be moved back to its original site sometime during the next two weeks.

New Coming Soons

On Queens Blvd. in the new Aston Condo

On Metropolitan Ave.

Enjoying Duane Reade

I can't believe I am saying this, but I really am falling in love with a drugstore! Our revamped Duane Reade on 71st/Continental is really such a vast improvement that when I went in to get just a couple of things tonight I found myself meandering around the place, really enjoying the experience! And they aren't even finished yet - they are still expanding their food section. It's a small supermarket in there now.

I also really am impressed with their store brand "deLish" stuff. I impulse-bought a package of dried fruit snacks and they not only taste great, but they are actually all-natural and the perfect healthy snack. Keep it up DR! :)

Closing Time ?

Sadly, or perhaps not sadly depending on how you look at it, there's been a bit of a backlog of news about local stores and restaurants closing. Here's a quick rundown:

- Q Bistro, the restaurant on Ascan that used to be Thai and then reopened with a kind of an eclectic-modern style menu, closed about a week or so ago. I quite possibly was among the last guests at this restaurant. And I was left a bit unnerved by the experience, I have to say. While they had done a nice job of redesigning the restaurant, there really wasn't a lot of logic to what they were doing. For one thing, when you create an open kitchen for your guests to watch the food being made, shouldn't that enhance the dining experience, and not make the visitor uneasy? I sat right across from the open kitchen area as I ate and watching what looked like short-order cooks dump what I swear was cans of tomato sauce into what they were preparing was really not the most dinner-enhancing experience.

And here are a couple of other goners, Clear, an interent service provider on Austin St., and Austin Chemists, a small drugstore on Austin right near Ascan (my friend who lives near there said it seemed they spent more time constructing the store than actually being open.) 

I have a very good feeling about what is happening down on Austin St. near Ascan, by the way. Is it just me, or is that area becoming very interesting, between the amazing La Boulangerie, the very enjoyable Brownies & Cream (I just treated myself tonight to some more of their delectable home made Coffee Brownie ice cream - Boy, they have huge chunks of brownies in there, delish! :) ), and the bizarre, yet conversation-generating Sister Unn's. 

Could my dreams of a cute little independent cafe be next down that way? We've already come awfully close with La Boulangerie. Wouldn't the Q Bistro space make for the perfect little indie cafe, ala Park Slopes' Ozzie's, to hang out in? 

Our Newest Pharmacy

Continental Pharmacy is located on Austin, across from Banana Republic

Shyness - The New Disorder?

Here's a link to an awesome article in The Times that takes a close look at shyness and the pharmaceutical industry's attempt to make even this, the most normal of personalities, into an illness that needs to be treated with drugs.

OPINION
Shyness: Evolutionary Tactic?
By SUSAN CAIN
Published: June 25, 2011
The tendency to see shyness as an illness does society a disservice, because being shy has benefits.

I remember thinking about this many years ago. I am pretty outgoing with small groups of friends, but I used to really dread the thought of talking in front of large groups of people. I only got over that by actually doing it. But the more important point here is why did I have to ever do it in the first place? Because in our society we don't respect enough those people who are more introverted or just plain shy. Everyone, it seems, is supposed to be Reality Show material these days.

But have you seen the stadiums filled with screaming people trying out for American Idol? If you ask me, we have enough extroverts. As this excellent article points out, many of the greatest people who ever lived were shy and introverted. Now imagine a world where the brilliance of these people was never allowed to develop because their parents were told when they were young they had a disorder and had to be put on social anxiety medication? Now that's crazy.
And very scary.

Around Town: CVS' New Chelsea Store

I passed by this just yesterday and just had to mention it here. It really is the coolest setting for a drugstore I have ever seen. CVS has taken over the old Balducci's location, at the corner of Eighth Ave. and 14th Street in Manhattan, which used to be a bank many years ago:

CVS Gives Chelsea The Most Opulent Drugstore

New CVS for North Side of Queens Blvd.?

... that's what I hear... but this is unconfirmed at this point. Today brought the news that What A Deal!!! will be closing in 6 days, and the jeweler on that block is also closing its doors. So, there is a whole row of stores on that block next to the Key Food either vacant or soon-to-be.

This Week's Poll

First, the results from last week's poll.

The question was Which of the Austin/71st Continental drugstores do you prefer? Duane Reade or Rite Aid?

25 votes were cast and here are the results:

As I expected, local NYC chain Duane Reade was the most popular with 13 votes (52 percent of the vote).
Rite Aid came in second place with 9 votes (36 percent).
And 3 people entered other choices:
2 voted for CVS
and
1 voted for CostCo.

Personally, I find both Duane Reade and Rite Aid to frequently be out of stock on items. When it comes to the overall shopping experience, however, the thing that sticks out in my mind the most are Duane Reade's lines. Even with their new roped-off lines, which have done away with the scary line chaos and near-brawls that used to ensue, the lines are still so intimidating looking and good God they are still ALWAYS long. It is like winning a jackpot to see no one on line at Duane Reade.

I increasingly prefer the Rite Aid on Queens Blvd. near 75th Ave. It feels bigger, kind of like a suburban drugstore, with more space to shop, more stuff in stock and shorter lines.

Now on to this week's poll:

Poll Results So Far: Battle of the Drugstores

Here are the results so far from this week's poll, the Battle of the Austin St. / 71st Continental Corner Drugstore chains:

Duane Reade, perhaps as expected given its unique relationship with New Yorkers, is in the lead with 9 votes, giving it 45 percent of the vote so far.

In a close second place is Rite Aid with 8 votes and 40 percent of the vote. I have to admit Rite Aid is holding its own and doing better than I expected it to.

And 3 voters have opted to favor neither of the chains, giving "Other" 15 percent of the vote.

If you haven't voted yet, the poll is still open.