Discount Drug Mart

Old and beat down. Be careful in the parking lot. Seems like EVERY old person in Lakwood comes here to get ‘scrips filled. Had a weird swing party up the street and had to get nipple clamps and a funnel on the fly so it worked but for more «family friendly» browsing try the one farther up Detroit. That one is way classier. More flavors of boxed wine and warming lube…

I think just walking in here I lowered the average age range about 30 – 40 years. And I’m not saying that as a knock against the older folk. Heck… I’m on my way there. We all are.
But I think they all know something that we don’t – perhaps Discount Drug Mart really is the cheapest place to get your prescriptions and medications? Either way – I was not here for drugs, people. I actually came in for key copies and was done in a flash, once I actually got inside, that is.
Just a couple of things to note: Don’t come here in a hurry. The parking lot alone will throw you off 10 minutes. I waited for 3 folks to maneuver their cars for 3 – 4 minutes, each. Then waiting for 2 with walkers to get to the door. It’s okay. I get it. I’m always in a rush and sometimes you need to slow down. Same goes once you’re inside. I waited to a woman to pay in coins as she counted out, «1…2…3…» and so on.
Once I was at the counter I didn’t wait long for my key copies. And honestly, it’s somehow less infuriating to wait for a few senior citizens at DDM than it is to stand around the counter at Home Depot getting ignored.
As many others have noted, the stock here is something mixture of a Marc’s, a flea market and a drug store, which could be fun. Or just weird. I also was able to find Sherlock Holmes-​esque pipes here for a themed-​party. You never know what you’ll find at Discount Drug Mart.

I have been going to this particular Drug Mart since it opened a long time ago (Yeah, I’m old). In recent years they have made a number of improvements to this particular store, which previously felt like shopping in a ghetto with all the cosmetics behind locked glass so I would have to ask a clerk to open it up with a key if I wanted, say, a nail scissors. They’ve done away with that in favor of just having security guards in uniform standing around ready to pounce on shoplifters, so shopping here is now much easier.
It’s not the most organized store in the world — be prepared to hunt around for what you want, especially a seasonal item, and maybe have to ask for price checks when they have a whole bin of stuff not clearly marked as to what’s on sale. But if you’re willing to go through that, you can get some good bargains. I almost always buy more items than I came in for because I’ll see something I can use, like a T-​shirt or bra, marked down to a few dollars. The grocery section sometimes doesn’t have the freshest stuff (rock hard sugar that’s probably been there for months) or the best prices, but it’s the nearest and best thing to a convenience store in this neighborhood since many of the old time convenience stores in Lakewood (Lawsons, Convenient Food Mart, etc.) have now been converted into booze and cigarette outlets. I do a lot of shopping for my senior citizen parent and Lakewood Drug Mart also has the best selection of home health care type stuff that seniors need (note, this is not true of all Drug Marts, I’m just speaking of the Lakewood one). The selection at Drug Mart really beats the pants off the CVS across the street, so I only find myself going to that CVS when I need something specific like their 2 for 1 sales on vitamins — otherwise it’s Drug Mart all the way.
Reasonably friendly staff, multiple checkout lines, and lots of free parking in back of the store as well. Oh and by the way — they’ve changed the shopping carts so you can take those out to the parking lot now.

I may be biased since I’ve been going to this store as long as I can remember and I know many of the staff.
That being said I still can find almost everything I need and sometimes more. Not only that, but at prices that are better than any other store in the city.
The management takes suggestions for popular products to heart and often finds ways to get them in stock. Doesn’t get much more convenient than this.

The radio commercial says it all…‘saves you the run-around…we’ve got everything you need’.
When you first step into a Drug Mart, it feels like a junk store filled with too many items, packed in too tightly. And that is sort of true, but you really can get anything here! I am particularly partial to Drug Mart since they carry the New York Times which the Rite Aid and CVS which are closer to my house don’t. I love my Sunday Times and I just need to walk down to the DM to get it.
But the real secrets of Drug Mart lie behind the mystical Service Counter at the back of the store. Dog license, Tribe tickets, multitudes of other services are here for you!
So convenient, and they truly do have everything you need!

Discount Drug Mart is like a mythical place in the HW, or downtown Lakewood. It has two entrances, and shopping carts with tall, vertical pipes attached so you can’t take them to the parking lot. You think «this place is a wreck,» as you first step in. Lesser humans might find that a turnoff, but Lakewood residents find Discount Drug Mart just as it should be.
Depending on which of the two entrances you take, you’ll either wander to the front of the store, thinking you are in the back, or you’ll wander to the front of the store, thinking you are in the front. I’ve been a Discount Drug Mart customer in downtown Lakewood for 7 years, and I still can’t remember which way to go to buy my 2 liter bottle of club soda. I will say this: it has everything. Need keys made for your apartment? Discount Drug Mart. Need back to school notebooks? Discount Drug Mart. A new Mr. Coffee maker? Discount Drug Mart. Adult diapers? Potatoes? Lean Cuisines? Send a fax for $ 1 a page? Discount Drug mart across the board.
There is not a full grocery section, so forget what you were thinking about buying ground beef or chicken breasts. You will find cheese, milk, eggs, and Bob Evans sausage.