Walgreens opens Thursday

Staff Reports

The new Walgreens drug store at the corner of Waterloo Lane and Highway 395 opens 8 a.m. Thursday.

Besides health and beauty aids, the store has a drive-through pharmacy and one-hour photo service. Pharmacy hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Store manager Elenita Nordmeyer said this store is one aisle bigger than the Fallon Walgreens she opened a year ago with two aisles devoted to a new Hallmark card section.

"But customer service is the No. 1 thing," Nordmeyer said. "We've brought experienced people from Fallon to work in this store."

While store managers from neighboring Walgreens have come to help set up the new Gardnerville store, most of the 20 employees are from Carson Valley or Carson City.

District supervisor Tania Silva said another aspect of personalized service will be in the make-up department.

"We have our own line of Isadora make-up which is European department store make-up," said Silva. "We will have trained beauty advisors personalized like at department stores."

Walgreens offers photo services such as restoration, passport photos, picture CDs, transfer of videos and DVDs and the sales of all-occasion photo cards and gift items. Customers may use photo sharing services by going to www.walgreens.com.

Regular store hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.

Walgreens is at 1342 Highway 395, Gardnerville.

Work began on the store last summer and Walgreens media representative Carol Hizely said it would be typical for the company's stores.

"This one will be a typical new Walgreens store with a drive-through pharmacy window in a 14,800-square-foot building," she said.

As one of the nation's leading pharmacy retailers, Walgreens is experiencing a growth period and plans to increase its 5,251 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico to 7,000 by 2010.