MIDTOWN — PinkBerry better watch out.
The renovated Duane Reade at Broadway and 52nd Street, which is officially set to re-open Friday, will offer the chain’s first-ever frozen yogurt bar and slushie station, as well as a fresh juice bar and an in-house sushi chef.
The “UpMarket Fro-Yo Bar," will serve eight flavors of frozen yogurt, with options including non-fat vanilla and chocolate and low-fat 'Original Tart', 'Blueberry Tart,' strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, mango, coffee and peach for $5.99 a cup.
Toppings range from Fruity Pebbles, tropical coconut flakes and Oreos, to chocolate, caramel and Reese's peanut butter sauce. There's also a selection of fresh fruit, candy and cheesecakes.
The 24-hour store will also debut a "Freezee Station" that will offer rotating flavors of slushies and a “Good & Delish” oatmeal station that will offer three flavors of oatmeal a day.
The renovation, which have increased the store's size from 3,100 square-feet to 20,000, is part of a larger effort by the ubiquitous chain to move beyond lipstick and aspirin, with more fresh food and luxury items.
Duane Reade President Joe Magnacca described the redesign in a statement as the "future of drugstores" and said he hoped the new store would become a “total health, beauty and daily living destination."
Like the recently opened outpost downtown at 40 Wall Street, the renovated store will also offer an in-house sushi chef, a juice bar for juices and smoothies and a Coca Cola "Freestyle" machine with 22 flavors.
The store's pharmacy, which will be linked to the Walgreens network, will also offer a text message service telling shoppers when their prescriptions are ready for pickup, according to a company release.
The new store is set to host an official ribbon cutting ceremony Friday morning, with a handful of local politicians on hand.
