Editing Osco Drug and Sav-on Drugs (section)

===The Jewel Companies, Inc.===
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[[File:Osco Drug Logo.PNG|left|thumb|Osco Drug logo until 1980]]
In 1961, [[The Jewel Companies, Inc.]] acquired the 30 Osco Drug stores in six Midwest states.<ref name="ct-1960dec16">{{cite news |url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-jewel-seeks-to-purchase/145042182/ |title=Jewel Seeks to Purchase Drug Chain |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=December 16, 1960 |page=E7 |id={{ProQuest|182748852}} }}</ref><ref name="ct-1961feb25">{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1961/02/25/page/21/article/osco-chain-acquired-by-jewel-tea |title=Osco Chain Acquired By Jewel Tea |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=February 25, 1961 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |page=A5 |quote=Osco operates 30 drug stores in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. |id={{ProQuest|182811426}}}}</ref> In 1962, Osco's headquarters was moved from Chicago's Merchandise Mart to [[Melrose Park, Illinois]], and the first side-by-side "Jewel-Osco" store opened. The early Jewel-Osco combination (combo) stores were two individual stores, separated by an interior wall (and in some locations, a half-wall), allowing a customer to go back and forth between each store without having to go outside. The first Jewel-Osco Family Center was opened in Chicago's Appleton Plaza Shopping center in January 1962.<ref name="ct-1962jan12">{{cite news |url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/newspage/374734875/ |title=New Jewel and Drug Stores Open Jointly |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=January 12, 1962 |url-access=subscription |id={{ProQuest|183100562}}}}</ref>

The first Eisner-Osco Family Center was opened in [[West Lafayette, Indiana]], in September 1970.<ref name="jlc-1970sep24">{{cite news |url=https://jconline.newspapers.com/newspage/262406520/ |title=Eisner, Osco Join Forces in new building |newspaper=[[Lafayette Journal and Courier]] |date=September 24, 1970 |page=25 |url-access=subscription |id={{ProQuest|2162034653}}}}</ref>

The first Osco Drug store to open adjacent to an existing Buttrey Food store occurred in [[Anaconda, Montana]], in July 1967.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/352991537/ |title=Osco Drug opens in Anaconda Monday |newspaper=[[The Montana Standard]] |date=July 16, 1967 |page=13 |url-access=subscription |quote=Charles Haefmer, manager of the new center, said "In joining hands with Buttrey Foods, Osco Drug will provide the most complete onestop shopping opportunity in Anaconda."}}</ref> The first example of a purpose-built Buttrey-Osco Family Center occurred with the opening in Boise in September 1969.<ref name="idaho-1969sep18">{{cite news |url=https://idahostatesman.newspapers.com/newspage/724559304/ |title=Buttrey-Osfco Ribbons Cut |newspaper=[[Idaho Statesman]] |date=September 18, 1969 |page=30 |url-access=subscription |quote=In the picture below, Boise Mayor Jay Amyx snips a ribbon officially opening a Buttrey-Osco center at Fairview Avenue and Cole Road Wednesday morning.}}</ref>

The first Star-Osco Family Center opened in [[Manchester, New Hampshire]], in October 1970.<ref name="bg-1970oct23">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/435184244/ |title=Manchester gets new store |newspaper=[[Boston Globe]] |date=October 23, 1970 |page=16 |url-access=subscription |id={{ProQuest|503701169}} }}</ref>

After the merger, all of Jewel's subsidiaries soon had an Osco Drug. Some [[Eisner Food Stores]] locations were re-branded "Eisner-Osco". When Jewel acquired [[Star Market]] in 1964, the first Osco Drug in New England was opened, and some were next to Star Market locations and were branded as "Star-Osco". By 1968, Osco grew to 168 stores in sixteen states. During most of the 1960s, Osco operated as two divisions – 'City Osco', comprising the Chicago, Illinois, and Chicago suburb stores and 'Country Osco' (all the other Oscos). These two divisions were combined in 1968 and formed Osco Drug, Inc. Also in 1968, Osco's headquarters relocated from Melrose Park, Illinois to [[Franklin Park, Illinois]]. Later that year, the Jewel Imports procurement group was established to import a broad range of general merchandise from around the world to sell in Osco stores.

When The Jewel Companies Inc. acquired [[Buttrey Food & Drug|Buttrey Food Stores]] in 1966, many of the stores were converted to a combination store format and bannered as "Buttrey-Osco" with common checkout stands but separate store management, all under one roof. By the early 1980s, Buttrey eventually operated 60 stores in Montana, North and South Dakota, western Minnesota, Wyoming, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, Utah, and Idaho. Stores were spread thinly over a {{convert|2000|mi|km|adj=on}} wide territory.

Outside of the [[Chicago metropolitan area]], Osco operated stand-alone pharmacies (or free standing stores). In the early years, many of the Jewel and Osco combination stores maintained different operating hours from one another and on certain days such as holidays, one side of the combo store would be open, while the other would be closed. By the early 1980s, new and remodeled combo stores had the 'wall' removed and the store became one, and to this day, Osco retains control over drug, general merchandise, pharmacy and liquor departments in the Jewel Osco combo stores.

In the late 1960s, Osco was seeking to purchase or build a photofinishing plant to service its stores. At the time, the company was using outside vendors, and the film developing quality and service was inconsistent. In 1970, working with [[Kodak]], Osco built a photofinishing lab in [[Elgin, Illinois]]. The facility, Crest Photo Lab opened in 1971, and serviced Osco's Chicago, Central and Eastern region stores. The Elgin photo lab expanded several times over the years. As both Osco and its photofinishing market share grew, three more photo plants were added: Alves Photo Service [[Braintree, Massachusetts]], in 1980, Rich Photo Lab [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], in 1984 and Drewry Photocolor [[Burbank, California]], in 1987 (renamed Crest Photo in 1988). The photo labs were sold to [[Kodak|Kodak's Qualex photo processing division]] in 1996, prompted by the emergence of in-store one-hour photo labs and digital photography technology.

In 1974, Osco's headquarters were relocated from Franklin Park, Illinois, to a new facility at 1818 Swift Drive in [[Oak Brook, Illinois]].

==== Acquisition of Sav-on Drugs ====
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[[File:Savon.png|right|thumb|Sav-on Drugs logo]]
In November 1980, The Jewel Companies Inc. purchased Sav-on Drugs, Inc. which was headquartered in [[Anaheim, California]], and had 150 stores in California, Nevada and Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-09-fi-3217-story.html|title=Drugstore Chain to Drop 'Osco' From Its Sav-on Name|date=1989-02-09|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-20}}</ref> The Sav-on chain became Osco's 'Western Region'.