Rite Aid, once one of America’s biggest pharmacy chains, shuttered its remaining 89 stores this week after filing for bankruptcy in May for the second time in less than two years.
“All Rite Aid stores have now closed. We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support,” the company said in a statement on its website. Although all stores are closed, the company’s website remains available for former customers to request pharmaceutical records or locate another nearby pharmacy to fulfill prescriptions. However, all services have since been removed from the site.
The full-service pharmacy first opened in 1962 and became well-known for its cult-favorite ice cream brand, Thrifty, which has since been sold due to the store’s bankruptcy.
Rite Aid originally filed for bankruptcy in October 2023. The filing was largely due to competition from bigger chains and a massive debt load topping $4 billion, much of which resulted from expensive legal battles over allegations of filling unlawful opioid prescriptions.
The company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2024 after slashing $2 billion in debt, securing $2.5 billion in funding to maintain operations, and closing about 500 locations. By May 2024, Rite Aid had approximately 1,250 remaining stores—about half the number it operated in 2023.
In the same month, the drugstore announced it had sold most of its U.S. stores’ pharmacy services to rivals CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Albertsons, and Kroger. These companies collectively took over more than 1,000 locations, providing a vital lifeline to former Rite Aid customers who might otherwise have lost access to nearby pharmacies.
The trend of drugstore closures poses challenges for patients, particularly older adults, who often have to travel farther to obtain medications. This issue has been seen across major chains: CVS announced in November 2021 plans to close 900 stores by 2024 after shuttering 244 stores between 2018 and 2020. Meanwhile, former Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth told the Wall Street Journal last year that about 25% of their stores aren’t profitable. Walgreens later announced in October 2024 plans to close 1,200 stores.
As the pharmacy retail landscape continues to shift, former Rite Aid customers are advised to utilize the available resources on the company’s website to access prescription records and find alternative local pharmacies.
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