PayLess/Rite Aid diagonal aisle stores

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Super S
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PayLess/Rite Aid diagonal aisle stores

Post by Super S »

Toward the end, PayLess Drug opened several new stores which were sometimes called "45 degree" stores that had a diagonal aisle layout, and had the pharmacy at the front. Around the time that Rite Aid took over, the first stores Rite Aid built also had this aisle layout.

I am curious if any of the older PayLess stores received a "45 degree" remodel before the takeover of Rite Aid. I recently drove through St. Helens, Oregon, and wanted to get out of the car and walk for a few minutes. Due to the rain, I decided to go into the Rite Aid there, which was a former PayLess (1970s?). While there, I noted that the store was at some point consolidated to a smaller size, and had diagonal aisles, but the pharmacy was not in the front, it was at the rear. It did also have a lower ceiling with recessed strip lights, instead of the high ceiling typical of PayLess stores of the time. I am curious if this was a variation of the PayLess concept, or if the remodel was done after Rite Aid took over. It seems like a much more thorough remodel than most former PayLess stores have received, but the Rite Aid diagonal stores and the PayLess diagonal stores had many similarities.
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norcalriteaidclerk
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Re: PayLess/Rite Aid diagonal aisle stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

Super S wrote:Toward the end, PayLess Drug opened several new stores which were sometimes called "45 degree" stores that had a diagonal aisle layout, and had the pharmacy at the front. Around the time that Rite Aid took over, the first stores Rite Aid built also had this aisle layout.

I am curious if any of the older PayLess stores received a "45 degree" remodel before the takeover of Rite Aid. I recently drove through St. Helens, Oregon, and wanted to get out of the car and walk for a few minutes. Due to the rain, I decided to go into the Rite Aid there, which was a former PayLess (1970s?). While there, I noted that the store was at some point consolidated to a smaller size, and had diagonal aisles, but the pharmacy was not in the front, it was at the rear. It did also have a lower ceiling with recessed strip lights, instead of the high ceiling typical of PayLess stores of the time. I am curious if this was a variation of the PayLess concept, or if the remodel was done after Rite Aid took over. It seems like a much more thorough remodel than most former PayLess stores have received, but the Rite Aid diagonal stores and the PayLess diagonal stores had many similarities.
I would say it was likely an RA-1 remodel done by Rite Aid,but I wonder what the checkout format was(and what aisle markers were used).With the limited exceptions;stores that are either RA-1,Customer World,or Wellness format generally have sawtooth checkout counters.However,many Thrifty or PayLess locations that received low-key remodels in the early 2000's will generally still have traditional checkout lanes...
For your life,Thrifty and Payless have got it.
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Re: PayLess/Rite Aid diagonal aisle stores

Post by marshd1000 »

I remember two PayLess Drug stores with diagonal aisles. One is no longer a PayLess. There was a PayLess in Burien on 4th Ave SW. It had PayLess colors and the pharmacy was near the front. The store's decor did survive as a Rite Aid for the short term until Rite Aid built a store with a drive thru pharmacy at the nearby Burien Plaza.

The other PayLess Drug with diagonal aisles was in the Fremont district in Seattle. This was a store that had been planned by PayLess but opened under Rite Aid ownership. It was one of the last to be opened as a PayLess. The outside had the PayLess signage, but the interior was the diagonal Rite Aid layout and had shades of blue. This store was part of a mixed use development and did not last long. It became a independent upscale grocery. But I don't think that is even there either!
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Re: PayLess/Rite Aid diagonal aisle stores

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marshd1000 wrote:I remember two PayLess Drug stores with diagonal aisles. One is no longer a PayLess. There was a PayLess in Burien on 4th Ave SW. It had PayLess colors and the pharmacy was near the front. The store's decor did survive as a Rite Aid for the short term until Rite Aid built a store with a drive thru pharmacy at the nearby Burien Plaza.

The other PayLess Drug with diagonal aisles was in the Fremont district in Seattle. This was a store that had been planned by PayLess but opened under Rite Aid ownership. It was one of the last to be opened as a PayLess. The outside had the PayLess signage, but the interior was the diagonal Rite Aid layout and had shades of blue. This store was part of a mixed use development and did not last long. It became a independent upscale grocery. But I don't think that is even there either!
There was a store in Vancouver, at 136th and Mill Plain, that not only was originally planned by PayLess, it even kept a "Future home of PayLess Drug" sign up during construction. However, it opened as a Rite Aid, and it didn't really have any hint of PayLess at all. It had the diagonal aisles but the rest of the store was a typical Rite Aid design. I believe it is still open.

There are several Rite Aid locations scattered around Portland that have a diagonal aisle layout. However, the majority of these are either Rite Aid's own design, or are former PayLess locations that still are unremodeled to this day. The St. Helens store was the only 1970s era location that I have seen with the diagonal layout, and it makes some sense that PayLess may have converted a few older stores. It also makes some sense that PayLess could have consolidated into a smaller size, as their later stores were smaller and closer in size to Rite Aid's design. However, most of the stores I have seen consolidated happened after Rite Aid took over, some had an actual wall built while others simply had a row of shelves blocking off an open space in the store.
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