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After more than eighty years on Burlingame Avenue, Burlingame Drugs closed its doors today. With only a day or so notice, long term leasee Stan Clarke had an offer he couldn't refuse, and after struggling for several months to make ends meet, he had to close his doors today. Now Burlingame Drug joins the long list of Burlingame Avenue institutions that are just memories, including Garys Tuxedo, Miller Drugs, Levys and Burlingame Avenue Market. Change is the only constant!
– Written by admin
I noticed the lights at Left at Albuquerque have been dimmed this past week, so another place, with far less history on Burlingame Avenue, is gone.
I wonder when someone will change the signage on the place to a proper and fitting title: “What’s Left?”
”Change” on Burlingame Avenue has been constant, Stephen! If you look around the ground by the parking meters, you’ll undoubtedly find some. Especially with the new parking rates, you can find pennies and nickels if you keep your eyes open.
Yes, the loss of Burlingame Drugs is a sad loss, but how could they survive in the age of HMO plans? I would have happily bought our prescriptions there if they would take our insurance. Since they did not, we never shopped there. We cannot expect businesses to survive if we do not patronize there business.
As long as we, as a society, seek the cheapest place to buy things (think COSTCO et.al.), we will see the loss of small local businesses.
We need to support local businesses if we want them to survive.
SAN MATEO HAS A NICE “SHOP SAN MATEO PROGRAM”, I AM NOT SURE WHAT BURLINGAME HAS, BUT WE COULD DO A LOT MORE TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO COME ACCROSS FROM THE HOTELS, AND SPEND THEIR MONEY ON BROADWAY OR BURLINGAME AVE. WE HAVE FIRST CLASS RESATAURANTS, SHOPS, ETC… GRANTED SOMETIMES THESE SORT OF PROGRAMS ARE THE “BAKESALES” OF CITY POLITICS, BUT THEY WORK, ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS OR OTHER MOTIVATING FACTORS THAT SPELL OUT THE ADVANTAGES OF SHOPPING LOCALLY…
The Burlingame Chamber of Commerce were given funds to produce a brochure to encourage visitors to shop in Burlingame. We are still waiting to see it … any news anyone when it might be in the hotels, etc?
I have tried to encourage the Chamber to include in their brochure, ( if there ever is one), a promotional device that acts as an incentive for visitors to come “Shop Burlingame.” This can simply be a coupon with an offer attached. The Chamber then surveys the merchants and collects the coupons, ( say a couple of times a year or once a fiscal quarter), and “voila”, the Chamber has an instant measurable device to track whether visitors are coming from the hotels. It seems like a pretty simple idea. I hope they take my advice.
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