Rite Aid to close all but 4 Ohio stores

OHIO — Rite Aid is planning on closing all but four of its Ohio locations amid its recovery from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a spokesperson for the pharmacy chain confirmed to News Center 7.

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Rite Aid will keep stores open in Ashland, Cambridge, Uhrichsville, and Wooster.

“The decision to close a store is not one we take lightly. We carefully consider various factors in our decision-making, including our overall business strategy,” a spokesperson said. “In addition, we were required to go through a retail sale process as part of our Chapter 11 process, which allows prospective buyers to bid on parts of our business. As a result, we made the difficult but necessary business decision to exit these markets.”

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October, citing falling sales and the impact of opioid-related lawsuits.

The over 100 impacted locations in the Buckeye State will be closed by the end of September. Some locations have already closed, including locations in Springfield and St. Marys.

In June, News Center 7 spoke to employees and customers who were worried about the pharmacy chain closing area locations. One employee said she was worried for longtime customers who cannot travel well or at all to get their medication.

Rite Aid said most of their prescriptions and pharmacy inventory from the impacted stores will be transferred to Walgreens.

“We are fully committed to helping our customers make the transition to their new pharmacy, and we will operate our normal pharmacy operations up to and including our last day of business at these stores to ensure continuity of care so that our customers can refill any coming-due prescriptions,” the spokesperson said.

Rite Aid has the following locations in the Miami Valley:

• 437 North Wolf Creek Street in Brookville
• 898 South Main Street in Centerville
• 2532 East Third Street in Dayton
• 2916 Liden Avenue in Dayton
• 900 Union Boulevard in Englewood
• 101 West Main Street in Enon
• 3700 North Dixie Drive in Harrison Twp.
• 1320 East Stroop Road in Kettering
• 564 McAdams Drive in New Carlisle
• 590 West Main Street in New Lebanon
• 120 West Main Street in Russells Point
• 10 West National Road in Vandalia

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