By John Flood
 joe hu/town crier Elephant Pharm general manager Mary Douglas and CEO Kathi Lentzsch help celebrate the new Los Altos location’s grand opening this past Saturday. |
Elephant Pharm, a wellness store and pharmacy based in Berkeley, held a grand opening event for its new Los Altos location on El Camino Real Saturday.
Los Altos Mayor Curtis Cole and Mountain View Mayor Nick Galiotto attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Positioning itself as “a vibrant alternative to typical chain drugstores,” Elephant sells “everything customers need from the Walgreens-type stores,” according to the company Web site.
The 14,000-square-foot store offers herbal remedies, natural body care and cosmetics, natural foods and wines, vitamins and supplements, yoga and Pilates gear and fair-trade-certified goods from around the world. There are even find natural items for babies and pets.
Elephant Pharm has two pharmacies - one for conventional prescription drugs and one for herbal prescriptions.
The store is staffed with nutritionists, herbalists, nurses and aestheticians. It will offer free health and wellness classes to the Los Altos community and free private consultations with wellness experts, Elephant Pharm representatives said.
“We believe the town of Los Altos is the perfect fit for Elephant Pharm primarily due to its demographics,” said Kathi Lentzsch, CEO of Elephant Pharm. “The location is a dream come true … because it has plenty of parking and high visibility. And, it is located in a major shopping hub with two traditional drugstores nearby, which bring customers with health needs to the area.”
According to a recent survey from the National Institutes of Health, 55 percent of adults said they were most likely to use complementary and alternative medicine because they believed it would help them when combined with conventional medical treatments.
Opening day events included a raffle with free gift bags filled with sample products. A local steel drum band entertained. Visitors took store tours and participated in health-related demos and beauty makeovers. An Elephant bounce house and balloons for children were also a part of the grand-opening activities.
Throughout December customers can win an energy-efficient washing machine.
The store initially will employ 50 people, increasing to 100 as the store matures, according to a company press release.
Elephant Pharm has stores in Berkeley and San Rafael. A new store is scheduled to open in Walnut Creek in 2007.
Elephant Pharm is located at 4470 El Camino Real. For more information, call 472-6800 or visit www.elephantpharm.com.
