Expansion and acquisitions produced one of the largest drugstore chains in the country, with over 500 stores in 14 states employing more than 5,000 people.
Under Leonard's leadership, the Salmanson family also diversified into manufacturing and real estate holdings, purchasing the Gong Bell Mfg.
Always seeking to attract new industry, the Salmanson family formed the Ivy Co. to purchase the former Raycrest Mills, in Pawtucket; Wanskuck Buildings Inc., to develop the former Wanskuck Mills, Providence; and the Drake Co., to buy and develop a 180,000-square-foot (17,000 m2) industrial site on Webster Street in Pawtucket.
In 1984, Pantry Pride, a defunct Florida-based supermarket chain acquired the Adams Drug Company, which had then consisted of about 500 stores throughout the Northeast.
The following year, all of Pantry Pride's assets including Adams, were acquired by corporate raider Ronald Perelman's Revlon subsidiary.