What do CVS, Rite Aid and Duane Reade have in common? They’re all American pharmacy chains, but did you know that all three have Jewish founders?
CVS was founded in 1963 in Lowell, Massachusetts, by brothers Stanley and Sidney Goldstein, along with partner Ralph Hoagland, who was not Jewish. The name “CVS” originally stood for Consumer Value Stores.
Rite Aid was founded by Alex Grass in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1962. The company quickly grew into one of the largest drugstore chains in the US.
Duane Reade was founded in 1960 in New York City by the Cohen brothers, Abraham, Jack and Eli, and was named after the company’s first warehouse location between Duane Street and Reade Street in Lower Manhattan.
