The Chelsea Drugstore was a sleek, modern

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

and brushed steel building on the corner of

Royal Avenue Royal Avenue is a street in the heart of Belfast city centre, Northern Ireland. It runs for about 500 metres from the junction with Castle Place and Donegall Place to the junction with Donegall Street. It lies between the Cathedral Quarter, Bel ...

and

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

, Chelsea, London. It opened in 1968. Designed by architect Antony Cloughley and designer Colin Golding of GCB Associates, and inspired by Le Drugstore on Boulevard St Germain in Paris that was designed by Slavi

(Wiatscheslav Vassiliev), Chelsea Drugstore was arranged over three floors and on most days remained open for up to 16 hours. Inside customers would find bars, a chemist, newsstands, record stores and other concessions. A popular service was the 'flying squad' delivery option run by the store. Those who used this service would have their purchases delivered by hand by young ladies adorned in purple

catsuit A catsuit is a one-piece form-fitting garment that covers the torso and the legs, and frequently the arms. They are usually made from stretchable material, such as lycra, Chiffon (fabric), chiffon, spandex (after 1959), latex, or velour, but may u ...

s arriving on flashy motorcycles. It closed briefly in 1971 after 3 years, reopening in September 1972. Both pub and retail shops below were open until 1985. The store became a wine bar, and is now a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

. As of 6th July 2025 McDonalds has permanently closed this branch.

In popular culture

The store is notably mentioned in

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

song "

You Can't Always Get What You Want "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Sto ...

", where Mick Jagger sings of meeting "Mr Jimmy" and in

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

song "

Did Ya "Did Ya" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, appearing on the EP of the same name, as well as some editions of ''Phobia''. Release "Did Ya" first saw release on 24 October 1991 in numerous different formats (all of which were the fi ...

", where Ray Davies sings "Now the Chelsea Drugstore needs a fix, it's in a state of ill repair". Chelsea Drugstore is also the title of a 2012 EP by UK band The Jetsonics as well as it being a film location in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

's ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

''.

References

Retail buildings in London Commercial buildings completed in 1968 Chelsea, London Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea King's Road, Chelsea, London {{london-struct-stub