Twenty-four hour drug stores open in Rome — Photo courtesy of eliazarGoodbye Blockbuster video. Hello 24-hour drug stores in Rome. With the closure of over 100 Blockbuster chain video stores around Italy, an innovative company is moving in its place and promising a type of convenience to its customers that's all'americana.
There's nothing more frustrating than rushing home after work to pick up something from the pharmacy and finding it closed. In Italy, life still moves at a slow pace and that means stores close at 8pm and almost nothing is open on Sundays. Obviously for locals and unknowing tourists, this makes things all the more inconvenient when you desperately need to pick up a carton of milk or a bottle of aspirin in the middle of the night. Unlike in America where it's not hard to find stores (supermarkets and drug stores) open through the night; nothing is open 24 hours here.
Though, that's about to change. Since some 100 Blockbuster video chain stores all around Italy closed, a new innovative company (innovative for Italy at least) called Essere Benessere (a type of pharmacy) has taken over all of the former Blockbuster locations. The new store features over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin, cough syrup and vitamins but does not sell prescription drugs. As opposed to other pharmacies in Rome, one can also do 'other' types of shopping at their store. Essere Benessere carries books, magazines, food and also household products.
A new type of pharmacy in Rome — Photo courtesy of manfrysUp until now, these American-style drug stores (like CVS and Walgreens) never existed in Italy. If one wanted to do a little grocery shopping, you'd go to the supermarket. If one needed to pick up some Ibuprofren, you'd go to the pharmacy. A combination of the two just didn't exist up until now. So what else is Essere Benessere promising? The shop will be open 24 hours a day! That's right. You heard right. A big first for Italy. And as with all new trends, Italians are sure to crazy over the new store Essere Benessere store that opened in May in Rome's Prati neighborhood. A total of 86 Essere Benessere drug stores are expected to replace the Blockbuster locations throughout Italy later this year.
