When people think of neighborhood hangouts, they probably think of cafes, bars, and perhaps barbershops. Denizens of 86th Street, however, have a friendly watering hole that also happens to be a pharmacy.
Inna Shafir and Yelena Yosse are both from St. Petersburg. They met at pharmaceutical school in Russia and then both happened to move to New York within a year of each other to "try a different life." After Inna and Yelena had been living in New York for several decades and had opened their own pharmacies in New Jersey and Washington Heights respectively, they began to imagine a pharmacy that would be completely different from anything else in New York. Though their idea was unique, it was not entirely "new." They planned to open a place with a counter where people could get snacks and beverages, just like in the mid-twentieth century when drug stores also functioned as soda fountains. Tisane, a combination of a 1950s American shop and a modern European-style pharmacy, opened in 2011.
I spoke with Yelena, who admitted that the two women had no cafe experience. All they knew is that they both loved tea and wanted a diverse selection of medicinal herbal teas (tisanes). They were not alone in their lack of knowledge: the person who was building the space had designed many pharmacies, but never a beverage shop. They spent a lot of time getting the counter just right and then stocked it with an expansive collection of tea and coffee. They get most of the teas from an organic company in California. Some of the more popular flavors are Cranberry Orange, Ginger Peach, and Immortalitea, a mixture of green tea and rose petals. While sipping the Crimson Berry, I admired the colorful tubes filled with syrups for the organic sodas.
As for the pharmacy side of things, Yelena asserted, "We have a personal touch that you definitely can't get at Duane Reade across the street." The independent pharmacy offers other perks, especially for those without insurance. Yelena says that she is able to give uninsured customers medication for thirty percent cheaper than chain pharmacies, since she does not have to deal with a middleman and knows exactly how much it will cost her. Yelena always tries to listen to her customers and help them when she can, which includes their recommendations for Tisane. For example, the pharmacy only began selling toys after a customer urged the two women to add products for children.
When I visited in 2016, a New York law was about to come into effect that would require all prescriptions to be filled online. I asked if Yelena was worried that the law would hurt her business, since fewer people would be coming in with paper slips and grabbing a cup of tea while waiting for the prescription to be filled. She did not seem concerned. She gestured to a woman who was sitting by the window, explaining that she came in every day with her book for a drink and a pastry. Parents and kids also drop by from the school across the street. Tisane clearly has a devoted following, and has even been featured in the book 111 Shops in New York That You Must Not Miss.