Rite Aid sign in the Pearl
Everyone knows: nothing comes cheap in the Pearl. Restaurant meals cost a few bucks more, even when the greens are not organic, the chicken not free range. Furniture stores - aka design studios - display hot pink couches shaped like luscious lips, or fancy plastic chairs that sell for $300 or more. Yes, you read that correctly: $300 for plastic.
Tiny boutiques sell 7 for all Mankind Jeans in sizes that live up to the name: size 7 for everyone.
Despite all the high design & sparkling objects, many people in the Pearl live on modest means. They seek modestly priced apartments and sacrifice lots of extras to live here. Many also live in rent-restricted housing.
These are the people who lament the lack of more affordable options. Whole Foods may be wonderful for some groceries, but a nearby Safeway would be nice. (A local Trader Joe's: even better.) Bumble & Bumble shampoo sure sudses sweet on dirty scalps, but Pantene costs a lot less.
Which explains the clashing feelings about a new Rite Aid store in the 10th at Hoyt building. While wealthier residents fire off angry letters to local newsletters, or complain in the cafes about an ugly, corporate, cookie-cutter drugstore invading the neighborhood like a virus, others see the sign and feel relieved.
Overheard on NW 10th this past weekend:
"Disgusting. Rite Aid doesn't have any alternative medicines."
I heard this and wondered if using naturopathic medicine was a prerequisite for living here. Was the issue really the lack of natural alternatives? Or was it that Rite Aid was corporate?
I suspect the problem lies hidden in the subtext: Rite Aid is cheap. It lacks that certain Pearl something. The signs and soda cases light up in garish brights. No granite. No maple cabinets. Just the same old rows of metal shelving, complete with a photo counter.
Because for all its self-proclaimed diversity, the Pearl really does have an exclusive streak - not necessarily based on class, but something more elusive and hard to define. A kind of aesthetic sensibility or style (which, of course, takes us back to issues of class.)
I have to admit: I have a drugstore fetish. I love the way my tennis shoes sound on the tiles. I love the long shelves of lotions and shampoos, the sense of abundance, the rippling, flourescent lightbulb reflections on clean floors. I am the kind of person who will (occasionally) shop in that Rite Aid, even if I hate the viral replication of chain stores in general.
I do not believe the Rite Aid will hurt Pearl Pharmacy. Really, they serve different needs. And I should know, because I already shop at both stores, for very different products (although, the Rite Aid I visit is nestled into a downtown space near Pioneer Square.)
Two men, overheard:
"It's gonna bring more crime into the building.""You think so?"
"Just look at the one downtown. Look who shops there."
On the one hand, I knew what the man meant. I cannot even count all the times I've been hustled, hit on, insulted, and threatened near the downtown Rite Aid, when all I wanted was a generic bottle of aspirin or a new bar of soap.
But on the other hand, he was talking about me. I shop there, so according to him, I am suspect.
You have to admit: The sign is kind of quaint, old-fashioned even.
Comments (3)
I share your drugstore fetish. And I feel a sense of relief when I am close by the rite aids and safeways of the world because I know they have longer hours and cheaper stuff than my faves Whole Foods, Trader Joes and the non-chain Nature Mart.
I feel similarly in the obnoxious aisles of Staples, enjoying the millions of folders, pens, notebooks, desk organizers, calendars, Rolodexes and more...it's a fetish I just have to shrug off. I like it. It's still sad to me that the old stationery stores are almost extinct at the same time.
Posted by Wendy C. Ortiz | February 21, 2005 5:48 PM
Posted on February 21, 2005 17:48
Lately, I have been thinking alot about handwritten letters - the art and aesthetics of them. Your comment inspired me, Wendy. I plan to visit some stationery stores and see what I might find. I miss them, too.
Posted by karriehiggins | February 22, 2005 7:26 AM
Posted on February 22, 2005 07:26
I'm with both of you girls... drugstores, Staples, Home Depot: bring it on! Even if the corporations offend my moral sensibilities, the actual places are ambrosia for my aesthetic sensibilities. That's not to say that I don't enjoy the finer things in life. And downtown St. Pete, with its dozens of shops selling handmade soaps, kitschy stationary, and one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry, amazing galleries (including my fave, the Florida Craftsman's Gallery), and family-owned Greek bakeries and pizza shops is one of my favorite places to spend the day, too. As in all things, diversity is key; defining diversity in narrow terms that only includes businesses that meet certain criteria is... EPCOT Center. :)
Karrie, as you know, writing letters is one of my favorite pastimes (and my docs love that I love it because it works the muscles in my hand). Anyway, when I was struggling with agoraphobia I found this site online: paper-source.com. (They have quite a few brick-and-mortar shops, although none in my area.) The quality of their paper is truly amazing... definitely check it out!
Posted by Becky | March 30, 2005 10:20 AM
Posted on March 30, 2005 10:20