Rejuvenated, Old White’s Is New Again
The new White’s in some ways looks older than the old White’s, which is a good thing. When the new owners, Nyco Chemists, purchased White’s Pharmacy, which had been a mainstay of East Hampton’s Main Street since 1873, they did what every new homeowner in the Hamptons seems to do: Gutted the place. The result is a fine-looking store combining old details such as a stamped tin ceiling and an antique-y logo mosaic on the front entrance. The new owners, who added the drugstore to their portfolio of two others in August, also gave it a vintage name by rechristening it White’s Apothecary.
Though the store still has a pharmacist and provides everyday drug store necessities, the emphasis is clearly on beauty. The new space has a different layout with much more room to display its myriad prettily packaged cosmetics. And while it might seem as if it added quite a few new brands, it only added four, according to Diana Ross, the executive store director.
The new brands, which were requested by customers, are Smashbox (trendy cosmetics), Santa Maria Novella (cleansing milk), Nuxe (shimmery bronze body oil), and Fresh (cannabis eau de cologne). For the man who thought he had everything, there are now items from the Art of Shaving (badger hair shaving brush) and Jack Black (oil-free sunblock).
“We didn’t change much inside,” said Ms. Ross, who did her homework last summer and fall, querying customers about their preferences. Mostly they moved around display cases to make things more inviting. They also added a lot of gifts — from candles to cosmetic bags — the better for houseguests in need of hostess presents.
Ms. Ross, a former beauty blogger, brings more than 40 years of beauty experience to the store — though you’d never guess her age looking at her skin. “I’m a beauty junkie,” she said. Does she have a favorite brand? Not on your life. “I use different products all the time. I love to test them.”
Part spa, the new store offers services such as facials, makeup application, hair consultations, and brow tinting and shaping, done on Thursdays by Megan Born, a licensed esthetician. Ms. Ross is also interested in wellness and will be stocking nutritional supplements and homeopathic remedies, in her belief that beauty is more than skin deep.
While the pharmacy remained open throughout and the full space has been open for some weeks, the store will hold a grand reopening tomorrow from noon to 6 p.m. to officially unveil the new space. Executives from cosmetic companies including Nest Fragrances, Shiseido, Caudalie, Bumble and Bumble, Jack Black, and Estée Lauder will be on hand to offer samples, advice, and celebrate the new old store.