a Washington state business legend

In many parts of the country, the idea of ​​a neighborhood pharmacy is nothing more than a distant memory.

But not in Washington state. Bartell Drugs has been locally owned and operated for the past 122 years and is the oldest family pharmacy in the United States. While many players have come and gone over the intervening years, Bartell continues to carve out a significant niche in the market and community.

As with most companies, opportunities come at the strangest times. It certainly did for George H. Bartell, Sr., a 21-year-old pharmacist at Lake Washington Pharmacy. Just two weeks after joining the small pharmacy, her new boss decided she wanted to go out of business. Young George bought the pharmacy and a dynasty was born.

Well, it was almost born. George lived in the back of the pharmacy, often filling orders around the clock. Eventually, this greatly affected his health and George decided that a change of scenery would do him good. Like many young people in Seattle, he headed to the Alaskan gold fields, hoping to get rich during the gold rush. When that didn’t work, George returned to Seattle and his pharmacy. The time in Alaska was not entirely lost. While there, he created a new business plan: an idea for a drugstore chain that sold products at discount prices.

Over the next three and a half decades, Bartell Drugs built his business on innovation and value, adding features such as in-store soda fountains, film development, and even a candy factory, all in an effort to meet the needs of the company. changing customer needs and meet market demands. .

Finally, George Sr. decided it was time to hand over the reins of the business to someone else. George Jr. was the obvious choice. His first administrative decision came while he was still in elementary school. A competing pharmacy had offered to buy the family business, and young George told his father not to sell it.

George Jr. ushered in an era of change for the family business. In postwar America, downtown cores were dying and the suburbs organized for unprecedented growth. Bartell Drugs changed with the times, closing its old stores downtown and opening new ones in places like Burien and Bellevue, small communities that would explode in population over time. Bartell Drugs even had the honor of becoming the first pharmacy in the country to put its faith in a new retail concept, the regional mall.

Bartell Drugs continues to hold its own in an increasingly crowded market, in large part due to their superior customer service, affordable prices, innovation (they sell local beers by the producer in some locations), and a deep commitment to being an active member of the community. . The 58 stores that dot King, Snohomish and Pierce counties are cherished as the local business legends they have become over the past 122 years.

More information about Bartell Drugs.

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