Walgreens

This is easily the most unique Walgreens I’ve ever been to (and ever expect to be to). Unlike most Walgreens, the average customer age here isn’t «senior citizen».
Not that I frequent Walgreens much, so I could be totally wrong here, but I don’t think most Walgreens have any of the following things I saw that I can remember: froyo, wine, udon, smoothies, cut fresh fruit, mochi. There were plenty more oddities but I can’t remember them.
We didn’t go upstairs but I’ll assume that’s where the normal Walgreens stuff is. It’ll be a fun 10 – 15 minute detour to walk through here if you’ve never been, just for the novelty.

This Walgreens deserves a review. It’s the nicest one I’ve ever been to with 2 stories built-​in to accommodate your shopping needs.
The 1^st floor is unbelievable and spacious with a lot of offerings that a typical Walgreens store do not have! You’d think that you somehow entered a completely different world upon stepping in here.
It can get busy and crowded but multiple cashiers are there, so long lines move fairly quick. The center section of the store has fresh foods for you to grab as to-​go for lunch/​dinner. Can you believe this… There’s even a Froyo yogurt station, coffee bar, sushi to-​go, hot foods bar station, etc available! Going upstairs to 2^nd floor is where you’ll find the pharmacy, drugstore products, and beauty section.
Nicely done, Walgreens of San Francisco.

Probably the nicest walgreens in existence. Great grocery selection on ground floor with wines and spirits galore. Huge beer selection. If you’re a tourist in the area get your wine here to avoid the crazy gouging at the small wine shops which are there just to rip you off. Super friendly staff. Always a pleasure.

Walgreens is Walgreens. I’ve never cared too much for it or even give it much thought. However, this Walgreens location is the biggest I’ve ever seen! It’s two stories and is almost like a mini grocery store. They have prepackaged fruit cups, sushi, salads, sandwiches, pastries and other snacks that you’ll find at the other Walgreens location but X 2. The second floor is dedicated to cosmetics. If you forgot to pack something, don’t worry, you’ll find it here.

Nicest Walgreens I’ve ever been to.
Conveniently located just steps away from Union Square hotels, this Walgreens has a ton of products and food. You can grab everything from shaving cream to an acai based smoothie.
Definitely a little pricier than other Walgreens I’ve been to, but the cleanliness and convenient location make up for it.

This Walgreens was surprisingly really clean and organized despite the heavy foot traffic.
Never thought I’d get a smoothie from Walgreens, but the Alcatraz Acai hit the spot since it was blazing hot outside. To be honest I thought the smoothie was better than ones you’d get at Jamba Juice.
I also bought a bunch of toiletries I forgot to pack. This Walgreens has a really good selection of brands but I couldn’t find anything travel/​sample sized in the beauty section. Considering 95% of shoppers are tourists/​travelers I think this location should stock more travel sized items.

Wow, I think this is the nicest Walgreens I’ve ever been in! There’s a deli counter on the bottom floor and make up & essentials on the 2^nd floor. The staff were all very nice and I appreciate that the store is clean compared to a couple others that I’ve been to in the area!

This 2 story Walgreens that is open 24 hours will seriously BLOW YOUR MIND. 2 stories! Hot damn, I hit the jack pot choosing to stay at a hotel just half a block away during my visit to SF. Intimidating security guards are on active duty right by the front entrance, so be on your best behavior!
Everything from a smoothie & espresso bar w/​pastries to freshly packed fruit cups, deliciously packaged cuisines (sushi, soups, noodle bowls, salads, etc.), freshly prepared and packaged variety of sandwiches (I loved the ham & swiss, the chicken salad, & roast beef), assortment of snacks, souvenirs, a self serve frozen yogurt machine, on the shelves-​pretty much everything you’d find in a typical grocery store, Ghiradelli Chocolate section complete with chocolate gift packages & etc. The 2^nd floor is where you’ll find cosmetics/​make up, pharmaceutical items, OTC meds, infant/​toddler necessities, & personal hygiene items.
During my stay in Union Square for 3 days, I probably went to this Walgreens 3 times to 4 times per day. SUPER convenient!

Wow. I have never seen a Walgreen’s like this one! It is really big and has so much to offer. The aisles were neatly organized and the employees were quite friendly, too. They have two floors and the first floor was more snacks, drinks, Ghirardelli aisle, etc. Some of the prepared sandwiches and other stuff were so well-​stocked that I ended up buying one even though I was going to go to a café or something up the street originally. They also have a sushi «bar» where the chef makes rolls, pre-​packs them, and puts them in a cooled area for you to pick and choose to your liking. I tried one with raw salmon in it and it was actually pretty good. The pricing is not that cheap but it tasted like a legitimate little sushi place so that is all that matters right? The upstairs has toiletries, cosmetics, feminine care products, vitamins, allergy, pain etc etc. There are escalators going up there and a security guard is standing at the top to make sure everyone is well-​behaved hehe. The cosmetics area has their own «dressed up» employees who look like they work at Sephora or MAC. This was pretty cool because people usually always seem pretty lost at Walgreens when they are looking through their skincare products. Like I said. I have never seen a Walgreens like this one and I have already gone there three times during my visit here. I think I will end up going back a couple of more times before I leave.

Wow, this was one of the fanciest Walgreens that I’ve ever been in! It looked more like a fancy whole food supermarket than an usual sterile Walgreens drugstore. Also there had to be at least a dozen people working the cash registers. There was a line to purchase your items, but with so many cashiers, the wait was not long. I was in town to run the San Francisco Marathon and I stopped in here to buy some drinks and bananas for the weekend. If I have a choice, from now on, I will go out of my way to buy whatever I need from this Walgreens!

«Are you sure we’re in a Walgreens?», I ask my companion. I still doubted his answer. This is the perfect place for grab and go food and drinks, especially for our visitors who are staying in hotels. Not to mention the local workforce.
Ready made sandwiches, cut fresh fruits, hot food, juice bar, frozen yogurt, sushi and so on and so on. Everything looked fresh. Walgreens has done good!

Rare occurrence.
Temperatures above 80°:
Smoothies below $ 4: Alcatraz creation featuring acai, orange juice, raspberries, blueberries and goji berries. Sweet combination at a sweet $ 3.99 price.
Both rarely happen in San Francisco. Both did happen this week along a small $ 3.99 cookies and cream frozen yogurt with unlimited toppings. Cool treat to have on this warm day.
All part of the Upmarket café inside what might be the world’s most upscale Walgreens:
Four star occurrence.

Shee Shee Walgreen’s!!!
Seriously amusing store… well, for a Walgreen’s anyway. Entertainment includes:
–Classy security guards (huh?) These are huge guys all dressed up… definitely not your average security guard.
–2^nd floor with ginormous make up section staffed with really helpful workers… I’ll bet you could get a makeover here if you really wanted…
–Wall ‘O Chapstick. I guess tourists need Chapstick. A LOT of Chapstick.
–A café. Yup… a café complete with espresso drinks, food and surly café workers.
–Walls featuring SF neighborhoods sorta like TJ’s (ok, that was entertainingly lame, actually. Noe Valley really popped off the walls, and the Castro sort of faded into the background. Don’t be dissing my ‘hood, Walgreen’s!)
OK, HERE IS THE REALLY GOOD PART… brace yourself…
–Alteratives to Axe body spray for the Discerning Man. This was the absolute BEST thing ever. There’s a huge collection of weird scents for men. Wow! I NEED a body spray named ‘FUNERAL HOME.’ Yes really. And there are test bottles so you can check out cannabis, funeral home, leather, riding crop (yeah, a little 50 Shades going on) dirt, and new baby! See for yourself if new baby smells like poopy diaper and funeral home smells like formaldehyde. Hours of fun!!!
5 stars because it’s open for round the clock entertainment (24 hours.)

this is the most unique Walgreens i have ever seen or been into. it’s almost like they were trying to mimic a little bit of Whole Foods.
what really got our attention was the fresh fruit visible from the sidewalk.
the fruit is so so. it’s probably hit and miss. seems like the fruit is cut at a central location and either frozen, or near frozen for transport and display for sale.
the checkout system is very efficient. seems to be very fast. the place has all kinds of food available. seems like a great place for tourists to get decently priced food.

OMG it is the mythical giant Walgreens with froyo and all. Maybe we should rename it All-​greens because although it doesn’t have all greens as in a salad place, nor does it have everything, the selection of items here is absolutely expansive.
–Self-​serve froyo — No way, fill up a container with as much yogurt and toppings as you want for a set price. I wish there were sample cups!
–Ghiradelli section
–Sushi section
–Fruit
–Non-​perishable food items
–Frozen food
–Coca-​cola drink machine (the one where you can choose from 100’s of options with touchscreen)
It also looks so shiny and new! Ooh la la. It was like finding a mythical fairy that you had only heard rumors of.

I went into this store to buy candy. and I was stopped at the exit by the mall cop type security guard. he said that I beeped the alarm and wanted to look in my backpack. while walking back in the store I was standing in the doorway and the alarm was not beeping so how could I set off the alarm? I was acused of shoplifting and they found no stolen items and nothing to set off the, alarm. I am thinking of suing for slander and mental anguish.
Care to reply walgreens??

I’m gonna give some mad props to this Walgreens in Union Square. Although, there are a few around the area, this one by far is the best one I’ve seen in SF. Heck, I’ll admit that it’s the epitome of what a Walgreens should be. I wish we had something like this in LA, cause it’ll really inspire me to visit my local drug store.
The best thing about this convenience store is that it’s designed to accommodate the foot traffic and for people on the go. Not only is the venue humongous (2 floors), it’s pretty much got everything you need. The traditional drug store and pharmacy is located upstairs and for you ladies — the cosmetics and toiletries. I’m talking about fully stocked, long aisles, full of merchandise.
On the ground floor, most of it is food, including beer and wine. They section off different areas for things like sushi, fruits, snacks, sandwiches, and salads. They even have the Coca Cola Freestyle machine that can formulate over a hundred different combinations of fountain drinks. How about a self serve frozen yogurt machine?
I recommend checking out the store for yourself. It’s really spacious and quite a sight, even for a layman like me. It’s a great place to pick things up for your hotel or maybe grab a quick bite, on or from your way to work. With plenty of registers to match the employees manning them, it should be against the law to make it this easy.

Wow… Very cool Walgreens. The main level (enter on Powell) offers wine (in bottles), sushi, Ghirardelli, frozen yogurt and more. Then head upstairs for your typical Walgreens pharmacy type items.

Best Walgreens I’ve ever been.
Need some hosiery? Need some makeup? Need some San Francisco souvenirs? Need some coffee? Need some frozen yogurt? Yes, they have frozen yogurt w/​a small toppings bar, too! Hungry? Need a pastry? Need a cupcake or a slice of cake? Need a salad? Need a sandwich? Need some Hazelnut Kit Kat? Need to rent a movie from Red Box? Need a place to eat or drink your beverage? Need some ethnic snacks?
Too bad I don’t live in San Francisco.
The security guard was in a suit. Looks like an FBI agent. Bad ass.

Wow. Just. Wow. To cut a long story short, it has been quite sometime since I have been in SF. The Nephew #Two is in town. He wanted to go to SF to explore on his own, so I thought I would accompany him. He would go where he wanted to go and I would go where I wanted to go. And we would go back home to Berkeley together.
I wanted to browse around Union Square (while he went to explore SF elsewhere). I stopped by this Walgreens after having visited Christian Louboutin, VS Pink, BCBG Max Azaria, Hervé and Apple. I was quite surprised when I walked in. I was expecting to walk into cramped aisle space and complete disarray. OMG! I could not believe when I walked into a spacious first floor devoted almost entirely to food and drink takeaway. And it is quite organized rather neatly. The first floor is designed to purchase takeaway food and drink, electronic accessories, and other types of sundries. One selects, pays, and goes out the door.
Wow, there is a second level?! I went upstairs. My goodness – the pharmacy and cosmetics department. It is just as spacious and well organized on this second level too. The cosmetics aka makeup and skincare department reminds me of Sephora in the early days – spacious to move around to browse and study the product. There is a specialist or two to answer questions and assist customers. If I was not already pressed for time, I would have loved to spend some time there checking out and learning more about some familiar European brands that are here in the good old USA.
There is security stationed at the entrance and at the top of the stairs of the second level. And these guys look like that they mean business. One word: Don’t. I do feel safe at this Walgreens. And I will be back.
SYOY! Ciao!