Lewis Drug opens northeast store
Feb. 26, 2024
It’s opening day for Lewis Drug in northeast Sioux Falls.
The locally based retailer opens a 25,000-square-foot store today off Veterans Parkway at 5830 E. Madison St., attached to a Sanford Health clinic that opened earlier this month.
“This is our store of the future, so to speak,” said Bob Meyer, senior vice president of merchandise and marketing. “It’ll be heavily focused on things people need every day, every week.”
The size is identical to Lewis stores at 37th Street and Minnesota Avenue as well as the Ellis Road store, which is attached to a Sanford clinic.
The merchandise mix is geared to the neighborhood, Meyer said.
“We feel like there’s a lot of young families, so outside of our normal health and wellness categories with pharmacy, we are doing a nice toy department, pets because there’s a lot of families with pets in this area and the seasonal categories, whether it be holiday season or lawn and garden.”
The new store also has a “bigger focus on indoor plants,” he said. “Houseplants and such because there has been huge growth with the COVID spurt. We want to roll that out to a lot of our new stores.”
The new northeast store features bright lighting, new fixtures and a new sign program to make it easier to navigate through the store, he said.
There’s a wide selection of groceries, wine and spirits, grills and home essentials, with a pharmacy and a connection to the clinic.
Hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The grand-opening celebration will be March 16-17 and include a 20 percent discount storewide, plus the chance to win a 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander Hybrid and other giveaways.
Lewis has 61 locations and is continually hiring, Meyer said.
“We have a good staff for this store, but we’re going to continue to hire because we’re always in need of people throughout the company,” he said. “We call it hiring ahead, even if we don’t have a position open. We’re trying to hire ahead … in pharmacy and technicians, entry-level management, so if someone is out … we can fill the gaps.”
