The Largest Walgreens in The City Opens at Six Corners of Wicker Park / Bucktown Flaunting a Vault for Vitamins

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Love it or hate it the new Walgreens flagship store in the historic Noel State Bank Building at North and Damen opens Wednesday morning at 8am.

We got a sneak peek at what to expect?

Maintaining as much of the original building as was salvageable, this Walgreens looks more like a grand hall and less local pharmacy. Upon entering the store you immediately notice an open layout and earth tone color scheme dissimilar to any other Walgreens.

The street level holds the non-pharmaceutical items, as well as the specialty items we have become acquainted with at the State Street Flagship. There is a sushi area, frozen yogurt machines, a Coca-Cola Freestyle Drink Machine (my favorite) and an area where you can get paninis made fresh. This level also contains the alcohol section. The wine selection is smaller than that of the State Street store but Walgreens makes up for it with a larger selection of craft beers. Yay!

Moving on up?

The upper level aka the "Look Boutique," houses all the beauty products you would expect to find at Walgreens and some higher end prestige brands. While this location does not have manicure stations like State Street, it does have the "Ramy Eyebrow Bar." Estheticians trained by Ramy himself will offer their services by appointment and walk-ins are welcome.

So originally this was only going to be a two-level Walgreens but midway through construction the powers that be decided on using the lower level for all that stuff that Walgreens was built for? pharmaceuticals and wellness. The pharmacy and consultation area looks more like a spa than a Walgreens. An emphasis on wellness means that this Walgreens also carries more specialty items than your average store, for instance? yoga supplies.

And the pièce de résistance, the reason everyone will trek to this 24 hours Walgreens: THE VITAMIN VAULT. The original bank vault was opened up and it now houses a large selection of vitamins. Whether you go to pick up your Flintstones or to see a bit of history, this Walgreens is well worth the visit. –Victoria A. Olivares
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