Redundant and unneeded pharmacy to replace useful furniture store in Porter Square

[ron_newman]

According to the Porter Square Neighborhood Association mailing list, Pier One will close and a Walgreen's will move into both Pier One's space and the vacant ex-Blockbuster Video above it.

(Is there anything at all you can buy at Walgreen's that you can't just as easily buy at the CVS across the street?)

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Seems to me that if the two drugstores are truly "redundant" then there won't be enough business for one or the other, and one or the other will close.

It's not like Pier One is some locally-owned mom-n-pop store, anyway. It's just one chain replacing another.

[ron_newman]

Sure, but isn't it better to have two totally different chains selling different (non-overlapping) merchandise, instead of two stores that sell the exact same things?

This isn't like Whole Foods vs Trader Joe's where the merchandise mix is substantially different between the two chains.

[francescadavis.livejournal.com]

Regardless of whether or not Pier One or Blockbuster are interesting or local...do we really need another pharmacy or bank...? Are the rents so high that banks, big-chain pharmacies and so-so restaurants are taking over? (Sorry, just tried to get a decent meal in Davis and failed.) I'm ranting, but I think this is a rent issue. The local, independent, interesting stores, restaurants, businesses can't make a go of it. Our urban environment is going to turn into a mall in short order.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Better from whose perspective? Evidently there wasn't enough business to keep Pier One going. What's better, another drugstore, or an empty retail space?

Likewise, if Walgreen's is truly a duplicate of CVS and there isn't enough business to keep Walgreen's going either, they'll be gone soon as well. Lather, rinse, repeat, until there's a store in the space selling something that people want at a price people are willing to pay for it.

I'm OK with that. I'm not one of the Republicans who thinks "the free market will solve everything," but I can't see why it shouldn't be allowed to work in this instance and others like it.

[dcltdw]

Out of curiosity, where did you try to get food in Davis, and do you have dietary restrictions? (I don't have any restrictions other than vague anti-preferences, which is hardly the same thing.) I can think of 6 places off the top of my head whose food I like.

[ron_newman]

Except that from what I heard at the PSNA meeting, that isn't what happened. Pier One had a month-to-month lease and the landlord suddenly terminated it in favor of Walgreen's. There's no evidence that Pier One was failing.

Also, just because I think this damages the neighborhood doesn't mean I think some sort of law should prevent it.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

WHY...why do we need a Walgreen's right next to CVS? That's ridiculous.

I lived in Porter for 9 years...I'm pretty sad to hear this. Hopefully it'll be Walgreen's that fails and not CVS, because I like CVS about a thousand times better.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

Warheads Extreme Sour Freezer Pops.

never actually seen them anywhere else but online and at Walgreens.

[ron_newman]

Thanks - I didn't know this!

[thespian.livejournal.com]

I am a bit of a sour candy fanatic. I was dubious when I saw them at first, but her, they were $1 for a package of 10. And they are freakily sour, for a frozen treat. they are *great* all year round, but unbeatable when it is 97 degrees.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

also, out of curiosity, have you ever bought anything at Pier One? I have a mug and a couple little $5 purchases from the place, some glassware, but I find most of their furniture is grossly overpriced and twee. Are they really useful?

[ron_newman]

I don't have much need for what's sold there, but the place seems reasonably busy, and the neighborhood doesn't have much else in the way of furniture stores.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Eddie's used furniture on Elm St will get you a lot more for your money!

I don't see why the landlord would want to rent to Walgreens with a CVS across the street when they had a perfectly happy Pier One there, though. Maybe we are missing something. (And what about the space where Uno's used to be?)

[ron_newman]

I guess because Walgreen's wants both floors - Pier One and ex-Blockbuster above it. Though I think the result will be a pretty awkward drugstore. The only two-story drugstore I've ever been to is the Harvard Square CVS, and that isn't much fun to navigate.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Personally, I've found that between the Walgreen's and CVS across the street from each other in Central Square has me preferring the Walgreen's. The prices there are usually better, I've found, if they have the item I am looking for.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I do not see the need for another pharmacy on that corner; that said, Pier 1 is hardly the useful furniture store that you perceive it to be. It's mostly home accessories, generally cheaply made in Asia. I have a couple of candles and ornaments from them, but in all the years I've been going into Pier 1 I've never bought any furniture.

When I saw your headline I was actually sure you must be talking about the Jennifer Convertibles store, heh.

[ron_newman]

That closed a couple of years ago. They left Massachusetts entirely. (I bought a sofa from them some time in the 90s)

[alphacygni]

Argh! I love that Pier One. The convenient location means that I frequently drop in when I'm otherwise shopping in Porter and look through the things that are on sale, and often pick up little knick-knacks for decorating the house at really good prices. Practically all of my holiday stuff is from there. I don't even know where the next nearest one is, but having to make a special trip would completely defeat the purpose of how I shop there. I am deeply disappointed.

[csbermack.livejournal.com]

Wait, this is that building in Porter? Uno's closed? I am clearly out of touch.

[csbermack.livejournal.com]

It did? I am definitely out of touch here. Is the burrito place still there?

[csbermack.livejournal.com]

For people who have prescriptions at walgreens, it's probably a pretty major improvement. In waltham we have a big CVS and a big Walgreens about two blocks apart. I suspect that people who have prescriptions are pretty loyal about where they shop.

(I try to never give walgreens money; they're among the worst at refusing to fill prescriptions)

[ron_newman]

But if you live in the Davis-Porter area, there isn't much reason to choose Walgreens over CVS and Rite Aid for filling your prescriptions.

[ron_newman]

Anna's Tacqueria is still there. Jennifer filed for Chapter 11 in 2010 and closed a lot of their stores, including all the ones in Massachusetts.

[ron_newman]

Next closest Pier One (and the only other one on public transit) is at Coolidge Corner.

[ron_newman]

Uno closed two years ago and is still sitting empty. (Why doesn't Walgreens move in there?)