Stratman Pharmacy is changing to meet the needs of the growing number of people living Downtown.
At 11 a.m. today, with Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel on hand to mark the pharmacy's 10th anniversary at Fourth and Main streets, plans will be unveiled for an expanded grocery and deli area, more wines and trendy beers as well as a generic medication program.
"We feel there's been a shift in the Downtown mix, which is really exciting," said Betsy Stratman Pruitt, the store's business development director. "We're seeing more people living Downtown. All the loft apartments and condos are filling up, and there are more to come.
"We want to help, so people don't have to spend money on gas to drive across town."
She said the expansion and re-merchandising will take place over the next two months within the existing 13,500-square-foot store and won't affect the Garden Cafe.
Owner and pharmacist John Stratman said while it won't be a full-blown grocery "with a butcher shop," there will be more fresh vegetables, breads, deli meats, entrees and natural health food items. In time, customers may be able to order seafood and steak in advance.
The store's basement serves as a wine cellar with plenty of space for storing an expanded line of liquor store items, he added.
The generic medicine program, called the Low Cost RX Club, will be rolled out Monday, offering 250 of the most frequently-used medicines for $5 apiece. This also will apply to Sandleben Pharmacy since it is owned by Statman's.
Stratman Pharmacy moved to Main Street on June 8, 1998, remodeling a building that had been Osco Drugs from 1973 to 1996 and before that a Kresge's department store from 1944 to the early '70s.
When Osco left what city officials viewed as a corner important to Downtown revitalization, Stratman's remodeled the location at a cost of $800,000.
About $250,000 of that came from low-interest loans offered by the Department of Metropolitan Development and Evansville Downtown Development Corp.
"We were the first company to take advantage of the (loans) and they have been repaid," said John Stratman.
Later, the pharmacy added five upstairs apartments through the city's loft incentive loan program.