Tamblyn Drugs was a chain of pharmacies in Canada founded by Gordon Tamblyn.

Founder and Tamblyn banner

Gordon Tamblyn was born in Belwood, Ontario in 1878. He apprenticed to a druggist in

Whitby, Ontario Whitby is a town in Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region in Ontario, Canada. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax, Ontario, Ajax and west of Oshawa, on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is home to the headquarters of D ...

for a few months before enrolling in the

Ontario College of Pharmacy Established in 1868, the ''Canadian Pharmacists Journal'' (''CPJ'') is Canada's oldest continuously published periodical. This peer-reviewed journal is published 6 times per year. It features original research, clinical reviews, commentaries, evid ...

. After graduating in 1901 he began work at the Burgess-Powell Pharmacy, on Yonge Street in Toronto. In 1904, with capital of $500, he opened his own pharmacy at Queen Street East and Lee Avenue, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

’s

Beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

neighbourhood. Tamblyn's Cut Rate Drugs featured a soda fountain, as was common for druggists in the early 20th century. The pharmacy also offered a delivery service. He opened a second store in 1907, and in 1910 took over another store from a retiring pharmacist. Tamblyn incorporated his business in 1911, and began adding new locations almost every year. During the 1920s, Tamblyn's chain expanded to about 60 stores, mainly in the Toronto area, and eventually other parts of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, including

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

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The chain was purchased by

United Cigar Stores United Cigar Stores was a chain of cigar stores in the United States that in its first quarter-century grew to nearly 3,000 shops. It eventually became part of the corporation that bought Marvel Comics and its parent company Magazine Managem ...

a few years after the first location opened, as the company had begun expanding. Tamblyn remained in control of the company's drug store operations, and in 1929 he was able to reacquire the business. Tamblyn died in 1933, however the company continued to operate through

The Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank an ...

and remained prosperous in the post-World War II era.

As subsidiary 1960 to present

George Weston Limited George Weston Limited, often referred to as Weston or Weston's, is a Canadian holding company. Founded by George Weston in 1882, the company today consists of the Choice Properties real estate investment trust and Loblaw Companies Limited, C ...

purchased the chain in 1960, and continued to operate it alongside its

Loblaws Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the province of Ontario, and in Alberta and British Columbia under the Loblaws CityMarket banner. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companie ...

chain of grocery store, creating a "T" logo to match Loblaws' L logo. The chain declined under Weston's management and was sold to the United Kingdom's

Boots Group Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists Limited) is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain that operates in the United Kingdom. It also operates internationally, including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand ...

chain in 1978. Boots changed the stores over to the Boots name, and sold the chain in 1988 to

Oshawa Group The Oshawa Group was a leading owner of supermarkets in Ontario, Canada; It was purchased by Empire Company Limited (Owner of Sobeys) in 1998. The Company was based in Etobicoke and traded on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges. History Fou ...

which converted them to the Pharma Plus banner in 1989. In 1997, Pharma Plus was purchased by

Katz Group of Companies The Katz Group of Companies is a Canadian privately-owned enterprise, with operations in sports and entertainment and real estate development. OEG Inc., a subsidiary of the Katz Group, owns the National Hockey League five-time Stanley Cup Champio ...

and re-badged as

Rexall Rexall was a chain of American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1903, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across t ...

beginning in 2015. In 2016 Katz sold Rexall to McKesson Canada. Some Rexall locations have been continuously operated as pharmacies since the original Tamblyn ownership.

References

{{George Weston Limited Retail companies established in 1904 Canadian pharmacy brands Defunct retail companies of Canada 1904 establishments in Ontario Retail companies disestablished in 1978 1978 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1904 1960 mergers and acquisitions 1978 mergers and acquisitions 1988 mergers and acquisitions 1997 mergers and acquisitions 2016 mergers and acquisitions George Weston Limited

Founder and Tamblyn banner

As subsidiary 1960 to present

See also

References