DEERFIELD, Ill. — This past weekend Walgreen Co. opened its first drug store in the U. S. Virgin Islands, on St. Thomas.
Walgreens said that John deJongh, governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, helped cut the ribbon in a grand opening ceremony for the 18,000-square-foot store on Saturday.
Located across from the Tutu Park Mall, the store features Walgreens’ Well Experience format, which is designed to serve as a neighborhood health center and includes enhanced presentations for such departments as pharmacy, beauty and consumables. A defining feature of the format is the pharmacy area, which positions the pharmacist out front to facilitate patient counseling.
The Tutu Park Mall store offers express pickup for prescription medications ordered ahead of time and a two-lane, drive through pharmacy window. In addition, the enhanced cosmetics section includes a nail bar with a range of nail polishes and related products.
Also offered in the store are photo services with convenient kiosks for printing plus beer, wine, spirits, duty-free jewelry and Virgin Island souvenirs.
"We intend to be St. Thomas’ first choice for health and daily living," Justin Woods, community leader for Walgreens, said in a statement. "We look forward to offering our St. Thomas customers everything they need to get, stay and live well."
Store management celebrated opening day by inviting the community to enjoy ice cream tastings, beverages, entertainment and a raffle for a bicycle. Walgreens also presented two $2,500 charitable contributions, one to the local chapter of United Way and a second to the Caribbean Exploratory Research Center at the University of the Virgin Islands.
