CVS expands new 'pharmacy-focused' concept into Houston
CVS Health is continuing to roll out its new scaled-down store format to major markets nationwide.
The retailer has opened its first pharmacy-focused CVS Pharmacy in Houston, following the debut of the concept in Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C. Two additional pharmacy-focused locations are planned in the greater Houston area over the next year.
The new format features a full-service pharmacy with a customized selection of over-the-counter products available for purchase. With footprints averaging around 3,000 square feet, CVS says the locations help ensure patients have access to prescription medications and the trusted advice and counsel of their neighborhood CVS pharmacist.
"Community pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare professionals in the communities they serve," said Sid Tenneti, senior VP and interim president of pharmacy and consumer wellness, CVS Health. "Our new pharmacy-focused locations optimize how we engage with communities by expanding access to trusted care, clinical expertise and personalized support. We help people get the guidance, medications and pharmacy care services they need where, when and how they need it most."
Nearly 20 pharmacy-focused locations are slated to open in select communities across the country during the next 12 months. CVS added that it also plans to open more than 40 total new CVS Pharmacy locations, including traditional stores and pharmacies in Target.
"In the expansive Greater Houston metropolitan area, being able to walk into any of our pharmacies, speak directly with a pharmacist, and have in-person access to pharmacy services is important," Thanh Hoang, pharmacy manager at CVS Pharmacy. "Our pharmacists live and work within the communities they serve and because authentic connections are created through meaningful interactions, patients and customers trust their local pharmacy teams."
[READ MORE: CVS Health embeds AI into pharmacy dispensing]
As of March 31, 2026, CVS Health operates approximately 9,000 retail pharmacy locations and more than 1,000 walk-in and primary care medical clinics nationwide.
