The Drugstore

Dates

• Existence: June 10, 1973 - 1990s - 1990

Biography

The Drugstore was a Jewish-owned drugstore in Denver for over 20 years, owned by Arnold Hayutin. After Arnold sold his previous drugstore, Yale Drug, on June 7th, 1973 he opened The Drugstore, on June 10th of 1973.

The store was located on Monaco Parkway near Tennessee Avenue. It was a full-line store, and one of the first boutique carpeted stores. Unfortunately, the new store struggled at first because it was too expensive for the neighborhood.

Arnie met Richard Bard, the Denver CEO of FoxMeyer Drug Co., Denver's new wholesale drug company. Richard became Arnie's mentor and close friend. By adopting FoxMeyer's new merchandizing approach and franchise for independent drugstores, The Drugstore prospered. It became one of the first 500 successful Health Mart stores in the country. The business was also a strong and enduring partnership with Arnie’s wife, Phyllis, who worked beside him for years. She not only purchased all of the gift items and arranged all the displays, but also served as the postal worker for the U.S. Post Office outlet located in The Drugstore. He worked at The Drugstore for over 20 years.

In later years, Arnie bought inventories and accounts receivable from other drugstores, which they closed and incorporated into The Drugstore. He opened Midtown Pharmacy on Franklin Street connected to St. Joseph Hospital, which provided him with a store in which to consolidate inventories from the two Thebus Pharmacies he purchased earlier. After selling his stores, he worked as a temp pharmacist for an agency at drugstores throughout the state until he became ill. Arnie passed away in 2015.