Beloved Mexican mascot Dr. Simi is now starring in Hollywood. Farmacias Similares, Latin America’s largest pharmacy chain, has opened Similandia Los Angeles — its first flagship U.S. store.
With an area of 140 square meters (1,507 square feet), the new store — part of the pharmacy’s initial push into the United States — is not selling prescriptions and medications due to strict U.S. and FDA regulations.
Rather, it is focusing on health products and themed merchandise surrounding Dr. Simi, including the brand’s iconic Simipeluche, a plush toy that’s a cultural phenomenon in Latin America.
The shop is located at 6818 Hollywood Boulevard — within a stretch of the Hollywood Walk of Fame — and is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. A grand opening took place in September 2025.
The store also offers interactive experiences such as video games, dance challenges and selfie stations. One of the activities is “building” a Dr. Simi doll by choosing various outfits and accessories.
A fiberglass sculpture of Dr. Simi dressed as a charro (traditional Mexican horseman) welcomes visitors at the entrance, while murals by Israeli artist Samuel Hagai depict the popular mascot in costumes from mariachi to superhero.
Inside, displays showcase the work of the SíMiPlaneta Foundation supporting environmental causes in Mexico.
Dr. Simi is often in the news in Mexico, where there are already five Similandia-branded stores in greater Mexico City and one in Zapopan, Jalisco, according to Similandia.com.
Over the final five weeks of 2025, for example, the Dr. Simi Foundation set a Guinness World Record for constructing the largest bottle cap mosaic not long after running the second annual Simifest — an 11-hour music festival that drew more than 15,000 people and was promoted via “Simisónico,” a series of in-office concerts like NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts.
Additionally in 2025, Dr. Simi launched a line of budget-friendly veterinary clinics; debuted a Dr. Simi flight simulator and store in Aztlán amusement park; and received thousands of visitors to its four-room Dr. Simi museum and café in Mexico City.
But the store in Los Angeles is a whole new world, one recently experienced by Mexican actor-comedian Eugenio Derbez.
Dr. Simi went all out to celebrate Three Kings Day on Jan. 6 🤩 🎉 There was cake, gifts, and lots and lots of dancing in Hollywood’s “Similandia” 🥳 pic.twitter.com/Tx9Ayu9vfh
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 7, 2026
When visiting the shop in October, Derbez discovered a plush Dr. Simi doll dressed as his character, Ludovico P. Luche, from the old Mexican sitcom “La familia P. Luche” (2002-2012).
“It felt really nice, to be honest,” he said in the newspaper El Universal. “Especially because Dr. Simi has become an iconic figure for Mexicans, and seeing him on the street here in Los Angeles made me feel very proud.”
The plush toys sold at Similandia are handmade in Puebla by employees with disabilities through the social enterprise CINIA, which stands for capacitación (training), industria (industry) and artesanías (crafts). Factory workers craft about 1,000 dolls daily, employing more than 400 people.
Farmacias Similares began its U.S. expansion in 2025, establishing an office in Austin, Texas, and announcing plans to initially focus on locations in California and Texas, to be followed by New York, Illinois, Arizona and Florida.
For now, the chain has partnered with CVS Pharmacy to sell its products nationwide.
CVS locations in Las Vegas are the first to carry supplements, over-the-counter medicines and cosmetics, with California and Texas stores to follow.
“This collaboration with Farmacias Similares is the latest example of how we personalize our assortment for our Hispanic customers,” said Alfredo Martínez, associate vice president of Hispanic Strategy at CVS Health.
Farmacias Similares, founded in 1997, operates more than 10,500 branches in Mexico, Colombia and Chile — and, now, one in Hollywood.
With reports from KABC, El Diario Noroeste, El Universal and El Economista
