According to The New York Times, a Duane Reade pharmacy on Bedford Avenue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn is now selling beer. And not just by the can or bottle-the pharmacy has a beer bar with eight beers on tap that are served in growlers.
Although the beer doesn’t sell beer by the pint, they do have tastings. The bar stocks common national beer brands as well as local, craft, and imported. They also stock hard-to-find beers, and sell them for significantly less money than other beer distributors in the area.
Several Duane Reade’s around New York City have been working to make their locations more approachable by the people working and living around them. In some areas of Midtown East they sell cut flowers, in the Bronx they carry more items from the Hispanic brand Goya.
“Doing something like this is unexpected and breathes a little bit of life into the company and makes you go, ‘Hmm, that’s different, that’s kind of cool,’” said Neil Powell, chief creative officer of Beattie McGuinness Bungay New York, and advertising and public relations agency.
By selling beer in an area of Brooklyn that prefers independently-run operations rather than chains, Duane Reade is able to differentiate themselves from other businesses in the area such as Kings Pharmacy, a mom-and-pop place that is across the street.
