For Seattle, Bartell’s has always been more than a drugstore

The Bartell’s on the Ave — the one Keister and I frequented in our youth —  closed last spring. I hadn’t heard about the coming closure, but I ended up walking by the day after it had been shuttered. The fixtures were still in place, including the “We’re Loving Local” sign that hung at the front, highlighting Bartell’s commitment to Northwest companies.

This Bartell’s, at the corner of Northeast 45th Street and University Way, held a hint of Seattle music history. One of Nirvana’s early managers lived above the store, and the band often stayed there when in Seattle. Did Kurt Cobain buy contraception at that corner Bartell’s, like I did when I was in college?

We’ll never know, but another link to local music is more certain. In November 2020, at the height of COVID closures, Bartell’s launched a Keep Music Live line of hats, sweatshirts and face masks, with 50% of proceeds dedicated to helping struggling local music venues. I would be highly surprised next pandemic if Rite Aid would do the same.

Before Rite Aid purchased Bartell’s, it was the oldest independently owned drugstore chain in the nation. The absorption of Bartell’s reflects homogenization that isn’t unique to Seattle, or to drugstores, or to this decade. But corporate America’s appetite for the drug industry has been enormous. (Amazon wants a piece of it, too, and in 2018 bought PillPack, now called Amazon Pharmacy.) A recent McKinsey report noted that the number of independent retail pharmacies had decreased by 50 percent since 1980, and that more consolidation is certain.

To better understand the relationship customers have with their pharmacy, I reached out to Todd Ramsey, who for 34 years owned the independent Ostrom’s Drug and Gift in Kenmore. Ostrom’s is so homey it is far closer to what George Bartell started in 1890 than any present-day Walgreens.

“There’s a special relationship people, particularly people who take a lot of medicine, have with their pharmacist,” Ramsey said. “For many, their pharmacist ends up as a confidant, and as a friend.”

Ramsey admired the way Bartell’s handled their relationships with customers. “Bartell’s were great, and maintained that personal flavor, and ran a really good business.” Like other independent pharmacies, Ramsey was approached over the years by many chains, including Rite Aid. But he says there is a “Seattle way” of doing business. “I have a general sense that people in Seattle are more honest, and know to do the right thing,” Ramsey said.

When Ramsey recently decided to sell Ostrom’s and retire, he had plenty of chains to pick from. But he sold to a buyer who would keep his store independent “for the sake of the customers and the employees,” he said. It will come as no surprise that Ramsey has always lived in Seattle — he gets Seattle.

Bargain Converse and local popcorn

No one knows how many Bartell’s will be left as Rite Aid moves through bankruptcy. I recently visited a few of the 40-something stores remaining, and they were packed because — and this may still come as a surprise to Rite Aid executives — people in Seattle love Bartell’s.

Those who find joy in the endcaps featuring Fisher Fair Scone mix, or Snoqualmie Falls Lodge Oatmeal, or Erin’s Popcorn, can still go to plenty of Bartell’s with a little searching. Even at the one in Wallingford — with its “going out of business” banners everywhere — I found the employees maintaining Bartell’s-level friendliness despite the signs of doom around them.

If it sounds a bit crazy and nostalgic to say that I’d gladly position myself to be the last Bartell’s customer, do know that I’ve done this before. When I heard iconic Seattle chain Chubby & Tubby was closing their Aurora store in 2003, I rushed over, and by happenstance was one of the last people to check out.

In Chubby & Tubby’s final hour, you could fill a shopping cart with what was left on the shelves and pay just $20. I had a 3-year-old then, so I shoved all the remaining stock of Converse All-Stars into my cart. For the next 15 years, my son’s footwear came from that one cart. The bargain was nice, but what was priceless was the fact that my son could tell kids in high school that his Cons, some with mismatched colors, had come from a long-gone but forever-beloved Seattle institution (one, sadly, that most kids of his generation had no knowledge of).

It probably won’t feel the same if I stock up on MarketSpice Tea at the last Bartell’s. Most things Bartell’s sells I can find elsewhere or online, but online sales don’t come with a smile from the person behind the counter — much less a sense of pride in local history.  But many current Seattle dwellers no longer appear to care about the city’s traditions or supporting local businesses.

As for Charlie Tomaras, who had trouble getting medications at Bartell’s for his dying partner, he eventually left Bartell’s. “It pained me,” Tomaras said. “My dad had loved Bartell’s, so my family had gone for decades. He just loved going there and seeing whatever interesting things they had on the endcaps, whether it was scone mix or stewed tomatoes. It was just the kind of thing you did in Seattle. But I had a partner who was dying and couldn’t get her meds, so I switched pharmacies.”

Tomaras moved his prescriptions to Walgreens, where things were improved. Sadly, his partner died, but Tomaras continued using Walgreens. “Then the Walgreens I was going to also closed,” he said. “Now I’m transferred to another Walgreens. I’m not sure when it’s going to end.”

No one knows if or when Bartell’s will come to an end. It’s possible that Rite Aid stores will close and some remaining Bartell’s will survive in Seattle, but somehow I suspect not. And there is real loss in losing a store that started not long after the Civil War, and that was often located in disenfranchised communities where access to prescriptions will be harder to come by with Bartell’s gone. But all over the world, we’ve gone from enjoying a distinct “third place” to a “work from home” situation with just one place — sitting in front of a screen and experiencing all life has to offer, including drugstore shopping — from the same seat.

There are still those few dozen stores left, so I’ll support them while I can. But if news goes out that there’s only one Bartell’s standing, and it’s closing time, I’ll dutifully rush out to buy their last bags of Erin’s Popcorn and appreciate that Bartell’s red color scheme one more time. That’s just what you do as a longtime Seattleite.