Competition in the drug store business is about to heat up in Odessa.

CVS/pharmacy will open a new store in Odessa in late summer 2009, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

The 13,000-square-foot store will be at the site of a former Exxon station on the southeast corner of Andrews Highway and University Boulevard. CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis said it will be one of 500 stores the Woonsocket, R.I.-based chain will have in Texas.

Currently, the closest CVS location is in Lamesa, 80 miles away. DeAngelis said the company has no announcements for other stores in Odessa or Midland.

CVS has been expanding rapidly in Texas since 2004, DeAngelis said, adding that the company looks for locations that are "easily accessible and convenient."

"The Andrews Highway location in Odessa did meet that criteria," he said.

The pharmacy is known for its loyalty program, which gives 55 million customers money back and exclusive offers, DeAngelis said. It also emphasizes it beauty and cosmetics department.

Some CVS stores have their own "beauty advisers," but DeAngelis didn't know if the Odessa location would.

While CVS has had stores in Lubbock since it purchased Eckerd stores in 2004, DeAngelis said expanding into other markets could be a lengthy process.

"It's really just looking for appropriates sites," he said. "We spend a lot of time determining real estate sites that would be best for us."

Many CVS stores are located close to Walgreens pharmacies, sometimes directly across the street. But the closest Walgreens' store to the CVS site is a mile away at the corner of University Boulevard and West County Road.

Walgreens spokesman Robert Elfinger said he couldn't comment on whether the company planned to move closer.

"I don't know the area very well," he said. "I don't know what leases have been signed."

Elfinger said Walgreens, which has three Odessa locations, competes "very well" with chain and independent pharmacies.

"Customers like our stores, and they know us," he said.

Gary Warren, owner and pharmacist at Town & Country Drug at 2745 N. Grandview Ave., said he's not concerned about CVS entering the market.

"CVS is really not our competition," he said. "Basically, people that usually come here don't want to wait two hours in line for medication they'll pay the same price for."