Walgreens re-opens two stores in Joplin, Mo., construction and repairs done in record time

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens on Monday celebrates the re-opening of two Joplin, Mo., stores just 90 days after one was severely damaged and the other demolished by a tornado that swept through the city on May 22. The drug stores are the first major retailers in the area to re-open since the storm.



The store at Range Line Road and 20th Street was completely rebuilt from the foundation up at a pace faster than any other store in the company’s 110-year history.



“This was truly a herculean effort by everyone involved,” said district manager Ryan Kruger “We are especially appreciative to city officials for streamlining the permitting process, to our materials suppliers for the breakneck speed in which materials arrived at the site and to countless others for offering their support and resources in completing this coordinated rebuilding project in record time.”



The reconstruction of the Walgreens store, which was only a year old when the storm hit, was also aided by the use of its original building plans. Typically a store of this size takes the company roughly six months to complete.



Extensive repairs to the second location, at Main and 20th Streets, were also completed at a swift pace, with the store’s interior being gutted to the studs and entirely renewed. Walgreens has provided pharmacy services from trailers in the parking lots of both stores since days after the tornado.