I grew up shopping in Walgreens stores. Our prescriptions were always filled there (I’m a huge fan of drive-through pharmacies) and being an avid photographer I use the photo department pretty heavily. When I lived in Louisiana I literally had a Walgreens right down the street – and now that I live in California I still have a Walgreens nearby – this time it’s just down at the bottom of the hill meaning it is still my one-stop-shop for all of my needs from prescriptions to photos to milk and ice cream.

Which is exactly why I was super excited to attend the grand opening of Walgreen’s 8,000th store in Los Angeles at the corner of Sunset & Vine on December 1st. This is one of Walgreens flagship store, so as I tweeted during the opening – this isn’t your mama’s Walgreens, y’all. Check out some of the many amazing things that this Walgreens features:

I fell in love with the Look Boutique – an upscale beauty shop located within Walgreens flagship stores – the Look Boutique is a store within a store. It features many brands that are made or carried exclusively by Walgreens – and I found some of the major players in the beauty industry there on the shelves. Brands like Cargo, Vichy, -417, La Roche-Posay, Avene and more. I could do some major, major damage in the Look Boutique. Also, you can get a blowout and have your eyebrows done at the eyebrow bar. Yes, you read that right. The Look Boutique features an eyebrow bar. Talk about a one-stop-shop!

We were lucky to receive a personal tour of the store from Walgreens President Joe Magnacca who took us over to check out the sushi bar. Yes, this store has its own sushi bar where sashimi and sushi are prepared fresh daily by a team of professional sushi chefs that Walgreens contracts out to. Pretty impressive, right? I can’t eat fish, but I was told by one of the other members of the media that were attending the opening that the sushi was amazing – what a great place to stop to grab a quick lunch!

During our tour Mr. Magnacca also demonstrated the Virtual Bartender that is in this store – you choose from a ton of different drink options and it gives you a print out telling you exactly what ingredients that you need. Check out the recipe for “Fluffed Cocoa” – perfect for the holidays!

Oh, and did I mention the juice and smoothie bar? The Hollywood types will go nuts over this!

During the grand opening festivities Walgreens acknowledged World AIDS Day by presenting a $10,000 check to Charles Drew University in honor of its HIV-related programming and research, according to the announcement.

Even the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa was on hand for the grand opening. He took a moment to make a few remarks at the ribbon cutting ceremony – saying “I’m very proud that Walgreens has chosen Los Angeles for its milestone 8,000th store, and is providing Hollywood residents with more access to pharmacy, health and wellness services. This flagship location brings not only a unique retail offering to this community, but also additional jobs and economic investment that help build a vibrant neighborhood.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony was very exciting, and was well attended by Los Angeles area notables like Miss Los Angeles. I happened to catch this lovely photo of Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson and Miss Los Angeles County Monet Bagneris sharing a laugh prior to the ceremony.

I created a quick little 1 minute video of the ribbon cutting ceremony and the opening of the doors at the new Walgreens at Sunset & Vine. Be sure to stop by to check out the store, and check out the video as well! Be well!