When did we start consolidating our stores? | News | starbeacon.com – The Star Beacon

Morning fog, then cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 47F. Winds light and variable..
Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 41F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Updated: January 2, 2023 @ 7:14 am
Shelley Terry

Shelley Terry
During lunch at work last week I went to the nearby drug store to buy something to eat.
As I stood in line at the check-out, I thought about my grandmother and what she would have said about today’s drug stores.
I could have bought motor oil, dog food, milk, a pair of socks, Christmas decorations, a bottle of wine and laundry detergent at this store.
Such is the blurring of lines in the retail stores today, where drug stores are grocery stores, hardware stores, liquor stores and florist shops.
Basically, one retailer gets bored with what he’s selling and decides to branch out. By doing this, he undercuts the merchants on his main product.
Back in the good old days, things were different when I would accompany my grandparents to Case’s Drug Store in Jefferson. There we would pick up prescriptions, over-the-counter medicine, Hallmark greeting cards and film and flashcubes for my little Kodak camera.
If we wanted motor oil, we would go to one of the full-service gas stations. As a kid, I liked the Sinclair station next to the Jefferson Diner because a dinosaur was part of its logo.
We would buy dog food, milk and laundry detergent at Stop-n-Shop grocery store.
Wine? The liquor store, of course!
If I needed a new pair of socks or shoes, we would stop by the Toggery, two doors south of Case’s Drug Store.
As for Christmas decorations, we had a Ben Franklin store in the plaza on East Jefferson Street.
You get the picture.
Today, everyone wants to play on the other guy’s turf. The time of the specialist is dead; the jack-of-all-trades retailer rules.
Despite the fast growth of general store-type retailers, I believe their are some business opportunities that have been overlooked:
• Fast food restaurants/heath clubs. What a logical step forward! Eat your burger, fries and milkshake, then get on a bike or treadmill to start working off the calories.
• Tobacco store/undertaker. Why not plan ahead for the inevitable?
• Hospitals/second-mortgage services. This is for people who don’t have health insurance.
• Pet store/vacuum cleaner sales. Anyone who owns a cat or dog knows things can get ‘hairy.’
• Mexican restaurant/gastroenterologist’s office. Need I say more?
Staff writer Shelley Terry forgot to mention her favorite store, the Dairy Queen and a health club.
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