Just ask Dana Murdy, pharmacist/owner of the new Shoppers Drug Mart store on King William Street, which opened its doors on Jan. 10.

“It has been crazy. It is a bigger store with a lot more product we didn’t have in the other store. There is a lot of  stuff in here that has made this store quite a novelty in Muskoka because you can’t find it anywhere between Barrie and Sudbury.”

The new building is around 6,000 square feet bigger than the one at its old location at the corner of Hwy. 60 and Muskoka Road 3. Murdy said that she has found many people have been coming in just to view the new structure.

“It has a high ceiling and the lighting is different so there isn’t much glare. It is bright and airy and it is a very comfortable environment to shop in,” she said.

The move from the north part of town to its new site two minutes away was necessitated because of a lack of quality parking space.  

“I knew the day I took over the Hwy. 60 store nearly three years ago the location would eventually have to be moved.  The parking was a problem and we were losing customers because they wouldn’t come there to park. I knew that in a few years we would be gone.”

Murdy and store officials looked at a number of locations that didn’t seem to pan out, but they eventually came across the present home about one year ago.

“I heard through the grapevine but Shoppers didn’t finalize anything (about the site) as far as I know until last spring and things didn’t progress as fast as I thought they were going to early on. We were not scheduled to even start (building) May 2008, but then things were moved ahead pretty fast.”

Murdy said that a lot of the basic aspects of the old business are included in her new location. However, regular customers can’t help but notice not only the size of the new building, but the eye-catching features inside.

The moment you step inside the doors of the new business you literally find yourself inside a beautiful world. The first section is dedicated to the Beauty Boutique, a cosmetic cavalcade where some of the top names in makeup and fragrances can be found along with professional advice in a relaxing setting.    

“The Beauty Boutique, the women are loving it. What I am missing are two leather chairs for the magazine section for the men to sit in while their women are getting done,” she joked.   

She said that her store is one of only around 100  Shoppers locations to have the Beauty Boutique.

“Our clients are loving it because before they would drive to Barrie to get the products we now have. We have very unique items in there.”

Another new feature is an increased grocery section. Murdy said that her customers can now shop for most everyday food items with the exception of fresh produce and meat.

“We also have a new organic section called Healthy Living. This is where we keep all our vitamins, gluten-free products, freezers of soy products we never had before. This section has become more popular than I thought it would be. We also have a digital section onsite for passport (pictures) digital cameras with someone here during business hours to help you with your pictures.”

She said that while the new store is bigger than its predecessor, the storage area is quite smaller.

“The concept for Shoppers is that (the product) comes in and goes right on the floor,” she said.

The new pharmacy is another part of the store that pleases Murdy.

“The old pharmacy was literally as wide as my office here. We now have special rooms for counselling that have doors for privacy. We have 12 computer terminals where we only had four in the old store so you would always have to jockey with other people. It is an effective use of space for a change.”

Shoppers Drug Mart is Canada’s largest pharmacy chain with more than 1,000 stores operating under the names Shoppers Drug Mart in nine provinces and two territories and Pharmaprix in Quebec.

The Huntsville store is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to midnight.