Rite Aid's Last Goodbye: A Pharmacy Giant Fades Away

Rite Aid, one of those familiar spots across America, just turned off its lights for good this week. After 63 years of serving neighborhoods from coast to coast, the chain announced all its stores are now closed. It's a quiet end to a story that started in a small Pennsylvania town.

Back in 1962, Rite Aid kicked off in Scranton with just a handful of shelves stocked with everyday needs. Over the decades, it grew into a powerhouse, running more than 2,000 locations by 2023 and employing around 45,000 people, including over 6,000 pharmacists who helped folks manage everything from flu shots to chronic meds. But tough times hit hard. The company filed for bankruptcy in October 2023, weighed down by billions in debt from lawsuits over opioid prescriptions and stiff competition from giants like CVS and Walgreens. They closed 154 stores right away to try to steady the ship.

Things didn't improve. In September 2024, Rite Aid crawled out of that mess by cutting $2 billion in debt and snagging $2.5 billion to keep going, but they shut down another 500 spots in the process. By May 2025, only about 1,250 stores remained half of what they had just two years earlier. Then came the second bankruptcy filing that same month. CEO Matt Schroeder stepped up then, thanking the team for sticking through the "evolving" world of retail and health care.

Fast forward to early October, and the final 89 stores locked their doors, leaving empty spaces in places like Brooklyn, New York, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Now, with Rite Aid gone, smaller towns especially might feel the pinch, scrambling for nearby options. It's a reminder how fast our go-to spots can vanish. Rite Aid's story wraps thanking customers for the years of trust.

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