Adams Drugs wins state Retailer of the Year award

Brad Harper
Montgomery Advertiser
Lee and Mike Vinson accepted a Retailer of the Year Award this week for Adams Drugs.

Montgomery-based Adams Drugs won the top award this week in the annual Alabama Retailers of the Year competition.

Mike and Lee Vinson of Adams Drugs won the Gold Award for retailers with annual sales over $20 million. It started in 1962 and now has 12 locations across the River Region, including eight in Montgomery. The contest’s judges noted how impressive it was for a local pharmaceutical business to continue to grow through the years. “Adams Drugs competes with national chains and somehow makes it work,” they wrote.

“I want to thank (Lee) for not throwing me out of the house for the times I came home and said, ‘I want to open another store,’” Mike Vinson joked in accepting the award.

P’zazz Art Studio in Prattville won the Bronze Award for retailer with annual sales of less than $1 million. It offers art classes for children and adults, as well as art camps, parties, fundraisers and more. It moved to a bigger location in 2012 and now also teaches more than 500 students across the nation through online classes.

More than 70 businesses were nominated for the Retailer of the Year Awards, a contest judged by a panel of independent retail experts.

Rosemont Gardens is celebrating 125 years in business.

Capitol’s Rosemont Gardens in Montgomery was also honored as one of three Centennial Retailers and was given a bronze plaque to display outside the store. It opened 127 years ago and was the first florist in the nation to ship flowers.

“For a business to survive the dramatic changes of the past century is a remarkable achievement,” Alabama Retail Association President Rick Brown said.

Winners were honored this week at a luncheon in Birmingham. You can see more at alabamaretail.org.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brad Harper at bharper1@gannett.com.