Longs Drugs Stores History from 1938- 1988

In May, 12th 1938  Brothers Tom & Joe Long opened their very first store in ( Oakland, California ) - On ( Piedmont avenue & 40th ) - They named the store by their families last name in remembrance to them of their mother , father, grandfather to start & that stores name was ( Longs - Self Service - Drugs )...

Years before that the two brothers ran their grandfathers & fathers general store that eventually went belly up.
But that did not deter them in any way nor did it make them lose confidence with in them at all they took that as a learning experience so if at all at any time if they did decide to start a business of their own they would know what to not do , what to watch for while running , operating the business of theirs
Tom & Joe went to ( Berkley University )-  After  graduating high school , as they were attending the classes at Berkley - One of them got out temporarily to help support the others schooling & the one that did that was the younger of the two brothers in who was Joe Long - He went out for employment at a national park.

While he was doing that Tom was waiting tables to pay for his classes, eventually Joe re -enrolled back in to Berkley University -And after they both graduated they both went their separate ways Joe went to work for Safe Way stores & Tom worked for Pay less Drugs store in Salt Lake City , Utah -- ...


As  time went on Tom befriended the founder of Pay less in who was M.B. Skagg's.
M. B. Skagg's was raised in a family of entrepreneurs who founded such stores as Safe Way , Pay Less , Osco Drugs---...

M.B.  Father in law to Joe Long helped the two brothers so that they could open their own store , they searched around for many years after until they found what they saw , felt was a perfect location to open their first store.

And where that was -Was again at: Piedmont Avenue & 40th -In the city state of: Oakland , California.

They Opened the store in the month date & year of: May , 12th 1938 - & The brothers sent out what was known as a penny letter to many of the local residence of Oakland to invite all of them to their store , shop there as they had their first grand opening at their first store. 

Over the years the Piedmont store went through changes two different years  from   1967  to the 1970's 

The way that the store looked in 1967 is not on this blog just the photos of the  way that it looked in 1938 to the 1970's , 1980's 

The way that the Piedmont store was redone was just a little bit different then the way it was redone in the 1970's.

And how that is -Is that below the store had plastic cursive lettering on the right , left front facing of the building  , below that was to start on the right side of the building was the mention of liquors, on the left was the mention of drugs , just like when the brothers first opened the store the double sided signage that was on the the top center front facing of the building of the store still had the mention of > Self Service < in the middle of it between the first , last name of the store.

The only time that there was no mention of that on the double sided signage was in the 1970's though the 1980's ,1990's the store was closed , moved from the Piedmont location in the mid to late 90's.

But the building still remained at the Piedmont location of Oakland , California-...

Then about nine months after the two brothers opened a second store with just the fist name on the  building in Alameda , California - In what was almost twice the size of the Piedmont Avenue store was, they did the same thing  that they did for their first store by sending many of the residence of Alameda to come , shop , help celebrate their second grand opening , just like the Piedmont Avenue store the penny letter was followed by an ad what broke in: March of 1939.

The second store featured a soda fountain  , yes this store had the look of a look of a malt shop in what many places in that era were called then but it was not a malt shop even though it had a red & white striped awning on the building but it did again feature a soda fountain set up in the right hand side rear part of the store..
That very store later closed in  1969 -When they opened a larger store in Alameda on ( Santa Clara Avenue.

Then in 1940 Tom & Joe Long - Bought a store in San Jose , California  that was originally going to open as a Skagg's Pay Less  Drug Store just prior to its  opening  &  opened it on New Years Eve - On: December, 31st 1940- The store operated under the Skaggs banner for several months til the neon signage could be replaced, the only part that was not replaced was the self service drugs part of the signage.

The San Jose store was long & narrow which ran clear through between the block between ( First & Second street.

Longs stores occasionally displayed liquor in windows when they were fortunate enough  to have it in stock.

Then in 1942 - Tom & Joe opened a store in: Fresno , California - This would be the second store of Longs that  that would have a signage with regular lettering the San Jose , California store was the  first of the two stores to have regular lettering signage.

The only difference was that the Fresno store had small neon lettering that read > Drugs * Tobacco * Candy -  The store was moved twice in the down town area , each time the stores size increased.

Then in December of 1948 the brothers opened a store in Modesto , California in the downtown area.- watch repair man.

In 1946 Tom , Joe opened  a  second store in Alameda , California on: Webster street.

It was the only store that operated in the dark being with no electricity and lack of lumber where the manager of the store had to use cardboard boxes to help hold certain sections of the ceiling in the store along with a lack of fixtures during its first days of operation

The store had a pharmacy that that still succeeded despite the stores handicap.

Tom Long -Thought we might have a drug less drug store seeing that there was no mention of drugs on the stores building just the first name was on there  only along with the wording of cosmetics , cameras , many other items listed below the first name of the store on the building.

That store was not the only store of Longs that had no mention of drugs  on the building for its signage.

There was tow other stores before , one store after it that hand only its first name on the building with no mention of drugs on it.

Over the years Longs Pharmacies went through many changes & each store always had the Pharmacies in the back of each store.

By the 1950's the Longs  down stores  seem to have reached their peak but over the years that was not the case starting with the downtown store of the Longs store in Palo Alto ,California -On : University avenue.

 Thus years before that store came about  Tom & Joe Long opened  a store in the downtown part of San Diego , California - In: April of 1951.

The San Diego store represented Longs first entry in to the: Southern California market.

The store that the two brothers opened a store in 1950 was in Bakersfield, California.

That store was only open for eight years , that store was said to symbolize the decline of the downtown locations , it was one of the other stores with no mention of drugs aka that there is a pharmacy in  a number of the store it only had the stores first name on the building.

The Bakersfield store was a classic downtown drug store when it opened in 1950.

The liquor & tobacco sections of the lobby department were on the upper left , it enticed customers with a neat displays , a wide variety.  

Store manager Henry Schnetz to final arrangements in the Pharmacy on opening day.

The cosmetics bar & back lit section headings  were  on the upper right of the store greeted customers as they entered the drug department.

The Bakersfield store closed in: December 31st 1958.

Early Longs stores featured two main departments being ( Drug ) & ( Lobby ) - The lobby departments were typically located at the front of the stores & used a central checkout stand called the bullpen" - to get the customers in , out of the store.

The  Bakersfield store was split in half from the front of the store to the rear, the downtown Fresno store had a more typical drug department in the rear of the store , the lobby was near the front door.

During Longs First  twenty four years all stores were literally   divided into two stores sections.
being the  drug department and the lobby department.

The drug section had chrome barriers & check stands separated it from the lobby  department  central  to the lobby department was the bullpen "- The bullpen was a service area    which merchandised candy , tobacco & photo products; It also the location of the cash registers for part of the store.
when longs was still in business most Longs stores still identify their check stands as "drug registers " hence the service call "Change on drug 4 please".

The merchandise was sold during " Crazy Daze" promotions also raised a few eyebrow.
Potatoes were sold during the 1958 Fresno promotion & at the end of the sale Ernie Dadigan wrote the following to Tom Long.

"Our employees were behind the sale 100% and we sold six tones of potato's".
Crazy Daze " promotions have  been a tradition at Longs for over 30 years.

Bil Arbios dressed up for a Crazy Daze promotion at Longs - Fruit vale store in Oakland , California  -In 1963. 

He eventually got moved up as area manager in the East Bay District - & Ernie Dadigan  appeared in costume in the "Crazy Daze promotion of 1958 at the Fresno Manchester store, Ernie later retired as store manager in 1986.

Longs Drugs had many slogans over the 70 years that it was in business starting with what Tom & Joe Long came up with during the early days of Longs  being: Longs Drugs -Where Everybody Saves the other slogans over the years there were many others such as:Take the Longs  way home & The Best little Drug store in town & Live healthy Live happy Live Longs,,,
And they wrote Longs ads for several years, as the company grew they were known as the Founders of: Longs Drugs Stores-& They set the tone of Longs  promotional strategies.

Tom Long once said: If Longs advertised it the price was the lowest & he added: We were discounters ."

The founders created many firsts.

The Penny Letter " initiated direct mail advertising.

Joe & Tom  represented the first advertising groups --Piedmont & Alameda then later San Jose.

They printed one "fly sheet " locally and then sent sent it to all stores to be inserted in to local newspapers.

Sales promotions  must also convince people to buy once they are in the stores.
"Nothing sells like lots of it!" Tom Long once commented on the companies use of mass displays.

"That's why  Hawaii worked so well for us." he continued  saying: " Customers there were used to stores running out of stuff, We didn't "

 Novelty has highlighted sales promotions since the early days. Deac, Tom & their wives dyed  baby chicks for Easter , dried them.

Deac also recalls of how he stopped traffic on Park Street -By blowing soap bubbles  in front of the Alameda store.

He saw that he had to sell his bubbles another way.

Have the right goods at the right price, at the right time & present them with style & flair the dramatic.

That's the essence of Longs promotional strategy - Yesterday - Today & Tomorrow--...

The older brother of the of the founders Tom said: "Nothing sells like lots of it the proof was shown in Longs  downtown Honolulu store in 1954 starting around the season of Halloween.
"A WHALE OF A SALE" was a flysheet ad which ran at both  Oakland's Piedmont Avenue  & Alameda Park Street stores in 1939.


The Whale of a Sale ad was one of many typical ads of a week of the companies choosing thus in the earlier days of Longs it was the choosing of the founders Tom & Joe Long.

That ad is said to be typical of the ones that were in circulation per week during the companies , its stores 70 years in business.

Longs advertising always had always had Pharmacy items on the front page ; advertised  food , paper products & other high consumables they used the word "Free " whenever possible: 
Including photo & liquor items , they advertised private label products to gain a price advantage.

Hawaii was still a territory  when Joe & Tom decided to open the first Longs store there in the early 1950's.

Locating a site in Hawaii  proved to be very difficult
Real estate was limited in the islands & controlling interests kept main landers out.

But Joe Longs strong selling , negotiating skills overcame these obstacles & then the first  Longs downtown Honolulu store opened on March 29th,1954 , Hawaii & Longs - Have never been the same.

 Over the years the uniforms of both male & female Longs employee has changed so has many of the display settings & the private labeling , the design / layout of each store , its Pharmacies , Cosmetic department . Photo department , its check stands, its signage  from 1938 through  2008.

In the early days of Longs many stores opened in many different shopping centers in the early 1950's starting with Fresno's  Manchester Center Longs store opened in March , the National City what was a suburb of San Diego's Longs store open followed after opening the Fresno's shopping center store.

Longs largest shopping center store was opened in November of 1958 in: El Cerrito, California,
 the Ala Mona store opened in: August 13th , 1959,
Longs gradually expanded from a small chain store/ company as the company opened many other stores from 1949 - 1968 starting with the West Covina store in October 15th ,1957, the Pomona store in March 6th , 1956 ,the Fullerton on March 11th, 1958,the Buena Park Longs opened in April 4th 1961, Longs San Pablo store opened in: November 1st 1961, Longs C&O store opened in  Feb. 2nd, 1962 that store had no lobby department. 

Longs Fremont Hub store opened in:October 19th ,1962,Oakland's Fruit vale store opened in April 25,1963, Longs  Pali store opened in : November 20th , 1963 Longs Visalia store opened in: November 20th 1964, Modesto Mc Henry Longs store opened in July 22,1964, before it opened Joe Long supervised the ground breaking on where it was to be built at & the San Bernardino store opened in: August 26th ,1965, Longs Santa Cruz store opened in November 19th ,1965, the Longs Novato store opened in: August 10th , 1966, the Longs Pinole store opened in: January 26th, 1966, the Longs Santa Rosa store opened in October 17th, 1967 , the San Anselo Longs store opened in January 12th,1967& the Fair field  Longs store opened in: May 15th, 1968.

Longs later opened a store in  El Cajon in July of 1980 -This store was the first to feature a ( Bargain Alley which is a wide aisle, used   several square four by for tables.
By the end of the decade most of Longs new stores featured a ( Bargain Alley)...

Longs then opened a store in San Mateo , California -On: March 27th , 1968 the store was 25,000 square feet the store manager that helped open the store was Dick Scott , he eventually rose to the number two slot in the company.      


Longs eventually went in the retail industry of selling fishing  equipment , bicycles.


The Kahala,Honolulu Hawaii  Longs store opened in:August of 1963. 

Longs 25,000 square foot Concord,California store opened in February of 1964 & like the Modesto store this store featured a garden Center as did a various  number of other Longs stores have as well .

When Longs opened was opening a store in Hayward , California in April of 1967 Longs founder Tom Long officiated at the -Grand Opening-...


The younger founder of the Longs brothers Joe Long invited his mentor M.B. Skaggs to attend the the westlan Longs opening  in Fresno , California -In: November of 1967.
 1968 -1978 Longs expands more...

January 23rd , 1969 Walnut Creek , California Longs store opens. 

January 29th,1969 Longs San Diego, California's  Balboa store opens.

April 14th,1971 Longs Kam store opens.

December 1st, 1971 Longs Maui store opens.

Feb. 21st, 1974  Longs store opens in:Santa Clara, California.

 August 6th, 1975 Longs store opens in: Livermore, California.

October 2nd , 1975 Longs store opens in Citrus Heights , California at the Bird Cage shopping center.

 November 24th, 1975 Pearl ridge, Hawaii  Longs store opens 

 November 26th, 1976 Longs 100th store opens in: Kaniliua

April 12th, 1977 Longs first store in Anchorage , Alaska opens.

July19th, 1978 Longs First Sun City,Arizona store opens.

September 27th, 1978 Honolulu Manoa Longs store opens.

In 1971 Longs stock was listed in the N.Y.S.E.

1971 Longs opens a store in Tarzana.

1971 Longs opens a store in Dan ville ,California  


Winning Customers in the 80's.

January 12th, 1979 Longs first Oregon store opens

June 27th, 1979 Longs first store in Carson City Nevada opens.

May 28th .1981 Longs opens a store in Truckee.

March 1st 1984 Longs Re-Enters Bakersfield , California at the plaza Center.

November 17th ,1986 Longs opens a store in Foster City.

May 13th ,1987 Longs San Diego, California's Del Mar store opens.

December 3rd , 1987 Miliani Town Longs store opens.

March 3rd , 1988 San Diego , California's Horton Plaza Longs store opens 

In 1980 Longs increased the number of stores in Nevada , two of them were former Pay Less Drug Stores.

From 1980 to 1983 Longs Opened as many as 43 stores in its first thirty years in business 
In Honolulu  Longs closed its very first store that opened 12 the 1950's due to the opening of a larger store that they were about to open across the street from it that later had sky scrapers built over it.

Thus they kept the very first Honolulu Longs open while the larger store was being built.


During the 1980's several stores underwent major remodels starting with the Fremont Hub Longs Drugs store.

Longs opened its 200th store in Sn Luis Obispo, California in: 1985  

I saved the Longs Drugs store that was located in Carmichael, California that was located on: Manzinita , Madison from closing even when Longs was about to open another store that was smaller then the Manzinita Madison store, with that I saved many peoples jobs that were working in that store. 

I am working on building the very first store in a model building size of the way that was in May 12th,1938.  

If there is a store that you do not see listed in this Blog leave a comment , I will respond after I see if its listed any where or if I know of it in thought.

Thank You for taking the time to read this Blog...

Sincerely: Fellow Longs Drugs Store Team Member / employee / Part of the Longs Drugs Store Family as many other employees are , will forever be  & I am known by many of my friends as a Longs Drugs Store Historian.


    

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                                                               Longs Drugs Stores
                                                                                        ( A )
                                                                 Tradition of Caring since: May , 12th 1938
                                                                           Founders: Tom & Joe Long 
                                                            Written by: Longs Drugs Stores Historian.
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Longs Drugs was started , founded by two brothers Tom & Joe Long in Oakland , California on Piedmont Avenue & 40th - In May , 12th 1938...

The first store was known as: Longs - Self Service - Drugs.
Tom & Joe knew that when times are tough that the public needed a place to shop that would not be expensive , too costly a place that was with in their budget & a place with that was local ,convenience,  friendly, helpful service, more.
Tom & Joe also wanted to have a place that people would recommend to many others.
And over the years even as many stores had only the fist name of the store on the building only then both parts of the name as the company grew  that has been working year by year& with that it  Longs has been a house held name since then.
And with the expansion of the company with the numbers of stores gradually increasing the very first store also had its signage change over the years , the facing of the building , its awnings as well, 
That happened from the years of 1960's to the 1970's.
Longs birth place is in California not Hawaii.
Longs Drugs stores gradually expanded from  four to five stores that grew to four hundred stores in the west coast alone including the Hawaiian Islands - Longs Drugs Was the only retailer that considered its employees , its Customers part of the Longs Drugs Store  Family -
Tom & Joe  created a store , company that beats all other retailers both in , out of its industry.
No other retailer has done what Longs Drugs store has done for its customers, employees not even C.V.S Pharmacy stores / Consumer Value Stores...
Longs has a cleaner record then C.v.s.
C.v.s. -Has been sued three times in three separate years on keeping  expired items on their shelving & selling them to their customers.
That was many many years before they acquired / bought Longs , its stores except for the Longs stores in the Hawaiian Islands in 2008.
At that point Longs Drugs  has been in business for seventy years from 1938 - 2008.


Longs has always taken any , every expired item that was on their shelving off their shelving , replaced it with the same item that is not expired.

Tom & Joe later put Joe Longs  son Bob Long   in control of the company , its stores but still supervised  in many tasks , operations in the company for its stores , its employees, customers.
Bob Long was a employee at Longs while he went to school before he was put in control of the company , its stores, as he was in school he was able to learn many things with in the company , its stores , what was the ambition, reason , more of how , why his father Joe Long , his Uncle Tom Long started the company.

And he took that , used that towards many things that he did with in the store that he was employed at , with in the general offices of Longs to the day that he was put in charge of the company , its stores.
Only one store of Longs was open for a short line of time from 1950 to 1958 in Bakersfield , California.

In a number of years after Longs later re-entered Bakersfield , opened a store there but not in the same location as the Longs store was in 1950...

The company did not stop expanding even when Tom past away , years later after Joe Long past away.

Longs even re- entered the downtown areas , opened stores there like for example two stores in Palo Alto , California starting with the Longs  store on University Avenue , Waverly , the store on Middle field ave & Colorado...
Longs later closed the  very first store in the mid to late 90's , it was said that they re- located the store else where in Oakland , California.
After Longs competitor Rite Aid in who acquired  Longs  old competitor Pay Less Drugs stores in who merged with Thrifty stores  was sued for keeping , sold an expired over the counter item Longs acquired 35 stores of Rite Aid but before that there was talks of that or where Longs would give a number of Longs stores that were not doing so well.

Now Longs Drugs stores is no longer in its birth state being California , its no longer in Nevada , Colorado , Oregon.
Longs is said to be still in the Hawaiian Islands still...


Longs Drugs is the only store I like , have enjoyed working for,at.
Also miss working at , for Longs Drugs stores.


I have done many many things while working at Longs Drugs Stores- Starting with: Cart Attendant , Stock person , Cashier, along with that Photo department & I also helped many of the customers while on the floor , when I was cart attending ,Cashier, Photo department, also I called a number of  the local Longs stores for many of the customers when my store that I was cashiering at did not have a particular item.
I even helped many customers when I was not on the clock.
I have made a number of: Longs Tribute videos for the founders , their families , the company of Longs Drugs , its stores in 2008.

I know that the founders would  not like that the fact that the president of  Longs in 2008 put the company , its stores up for sale , sold it all to the one company that would also be seen as the competitor of Longs -In who is again C.v.s pharmacies - I know that the founders: Tom & Joe Long wanted the Company , its stores to last longer then it did.
They wanted it to last longer the Rite Aid , Walgreen's , C.v.s - And many other retailers.

If Tom & Joe Long were alive today , saw that happen to their company , their stores   I would support , back them up if they were to kick the rear of the person who did that to their , company , their stores.
I would want , I would like for the very building that housed the very first store to be re done in the image that it was when Tom & Joe Long first started the company when they opened the very first store on May,12th 1938 on Piedmont Avenue & 40th, have it in a historical building Museum, with that place a plaque on the very spot that the building still stands on of that very day , month , year to commemorate, remembrance of  the founders , the very first store of Longs , the company in all, put it as a historical monument as well & when they put the building in a historical building in a historical Museum the building would stand as it did when Tom & Joe Long first opened the store, with statues of the two founders on both  front sides  of the building.

And I hope to be at the first commemoration & Remembrance ceremony  & party & if they want to put a statue of me beside both of them that I would allow as well.
May Heavenly Father bless Tom & Joe Long for what they have done , succeeded in doing, have done, no matter how impossible & stressing that it was , may have felt , seemed , where it became to where no matter what they had to go through , do they more then pulled through it all , made it more then a reality , actuality, success.

In addition to that: May Heavenly Father tell them that I would have liked to get to know them when they were alive , that they are my mentors / idols in who I look up to, I would have helped them in their venture if I was there during the time that they opened the very first store, I would stood by them side by side as the company grew with the number of stores that have opened then to the what was seen as the future, beyond even today's day,age. the only difference would be that Longs would have acquired C.v.s. pharmacy stores , also Pay Less , Walgreen's, Rite Aid stores.
And that Longs would be lasting longer then any retailer in any part of the industry, Heavenly Father please keep them safe , protected , let them know that they are missed , loved  by many.

If there is any other Longs Drugs Store  enthusiasts  aka who likes Longs Drugs , who have shopped , worked at Longs Drugs I hope that you like this , the other blog , if you can think of ways to bring back Longs to many of the states that Longs Drugs stores in starting from where it first started on through the state of California , Nevada , Arizona , Oregon, Colorado, where it can  expand beyond those states. please let me know , we can work together in making it a reality, it would be a positive thing to help keep the legacy , remembrance of the founders: Tom & Joe Long alive longer as my videos do already.

I am currently planning on building the very first store of Longs Drugs stores to start with in a scale model size.
If you are not a Longs enthusiast I hope that you still liked this blog , do know that all of what I have , did , will put on this blog is more then accurate , true.

If the family or family member or members of Tom & Joe Long are reading this blog  I hope that you like , understand why I said of what I said , I hope that you know that I am a person that has enjoyed working at the three stores that I worked at , for & that I will always keep them in my heart as you have, that all of what I have said, will say is not only positive both emotionally , more but also true , will forever remain that way.
If you would like to talk to me let me know.

Do note: That you must be an actual family member of the founders , a Longs Drugs Store enthusiast in order for me to talk with you to start.

You will know more of , about Longs that I know  each time I post a blog on here.
Sincerely: Longs Drugs Stores  Historian 

The Tribute Video


 

Bring Back Longs Drugs Stores Video