Dick Ramsey purchased Ostroms Drug & Gift from Harry Ostrom in 1964 because he thought it would be a great investment, but it is an entirely different reason that makes him never want to retire.
“I love the people,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been blessed to see families grow and kids turn into adults. I feel fortunate to have grown with this community.”
Ramsey is proud to have kept Ostroms Drug & Gift in the family. His son Todd Ramsey purchased the store in 1998.
“I debated whether or not I wanted to take over for awhile, but then the answer was clear,” Todd said. “I have grown up in this store. We have so many faithful customers, some that have been coming here for as long as we’ve been open.”
Todd and Dick plan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their store by having a contest. They will hide a copy of their 1964 Get Acquainted advertisement in a historic Kenmore location once a week for 10 weeks. Participating customers will receive clues via email Facebook and Twitter. The first customer to retrieve and return the 1964 ad will receive a $100 Ostroms Gift Certificate.
“We thought this would be a fun way to celebrate where we came from and how we have evolved,” Todd said.
Dick said many things have changed since he bought the store 50 years ago.
“When I bought the store from Harry Ostrom, my first move was to put more ashtrays in the store to better serve our customers who smoked while they shopped,” he recalled.
Ostroms has sold a quirky array of products through years of evolving customer tastes, including sheet music, sewing patterns, 10-speed bikes, television tubes, baseball bats and mitts, paper dresses and Helene Curtis wigs. In the 1960s, Ostroms employed a licensed cosmetician and sold more cosmetics than prescriptions. Cigarettes were drugstore staples, however, Ostroms stopped selling tobacco in 1987, after Dick’s close friend contracted lung cancer.
“I’ve always tried to talk to my customers and see what they wanted,” Dick said. “After all, the customer is the boss.”
The Ramsey family considers their employees’ needs too, which they contribute to one of the reasons Ostroms has eight team members who have been with the retailer for 13 years or more. B-Z Davis started working as a sales clerk while a student at Bothell High School and has stayed 40 years and Bill Briggs started 35 years ago and is now head pharmacist and store manager.
“I have loved working here, the Ramsey’s are like family to me,” Davis said. “I believe Ostroms is a huge asset to the community because everyone here cares about the customers. Our pharmacists know not only the health records of our customers, but they know them personally. I think our community trusts us.”
Ostroms relocated from the Kenmore Village area to Bothell Way in 2009 when the city of Kenmore bought Kenmore Village.
“We didn’t foresee a feasible location for Ostroms, so moving to Bothell Way seemed the best decision for us,” Todd said. “Our customers and team members seem to love the new location and I think we made the right choice.”
Ostroms added new features to their store when they moved in, including a pharmacy that is just steps from the front door, a drive through pharmacy window and a private counseling room in which to discuss their medicine with the pharmacist.
“I’m grateful I can step back and see the fruits of my labor,” Dick said. “It was such hard work when I first bought the place 50 years ago, I barely saw my family for the first few years. But it was all worth it.”
