Adams Drug Company was an American

drugstore A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of m ...

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

founded in the 1930s by Leonard Salmanson.

History

Charles, Leonard I. Salmanson together with his father Barnett Salmanson and brothers Samuel, Donald and Charles opened the family's first stores in 1932 under the name Adams Drug Company in

Woonsocket Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsoc ...

and

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

, selling health and beauty aids and assorted sundries. Expansion and acquisitions produced one of the largest drugstore chains in the country, with over 500 stores in 14 states employing more than 5,000 people. Under Leonard's leadership, the Salmanson family also diversified into manufacturing and real estate holdings, purchasing the Gong Bell Mfg. Co., in

East Hampton, Connecticut East Hampton is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 12,717 at the 2020 census. The town center village is listed as a census-designa ...

, a toy business, the Clover Bead & Jewelry Co., in Pawtucket, and the Colt Plastics Co., North Grosvernordale, Connecticut. Always seeking to attract new industry, the Salmanson family formed the Ivy Co. to purchase the former Raycrest Mills, in Pawtucket; Wanskuck Buildings Inc., to develop the former Wanskuck Mills, Providence; and the Drake Co., to buy and develop a industrial site on Webster Street in Pawtucket. Many trace Brooks Pharmacy's roots back to Adams Drug Company. At that time Adams acquired several hundred stores under the Brooks Drug banner in Vermont and New York, and also operated stores under several other different trade names throughout the Northeast. In 1984,

Pantry Pride Food Fair, also known by its successor name Pantry Pride, was a large supermarket chain in the United States. It was founded by Samuel N. Friedland, and his brother George I. Friedland who opened the first store (as Reading Giant Quality Price C ...

, a defunct Florida-based supermarket chain acquired the Adams Drug Company, which had then consisted of about 500 stores throughout the Northeast. The following year, all of Pantry Pride's assets including Adams, were acquired by

corporate raid In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to t ...

er Ronald Perelman's Revlon subsidiary. Shortly after the Perelman acquisition, in 1986, all Adams stores were converted over to the Brooks trade name. In 2023,

Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. Prior to its first bankruptcy in 2023, it was the th ...

, the successor to Brooks, filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. On May 5, 2025, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in 2 years, listing assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion.

References

{{Rite Aid Rite Aid Defunct pharmacies of the United States Pharmacies of the United States Health care companies based in Rhode Island 1932 establishments in Rhode Island