Quick Take
Three more Santa Cruz County Rite Aid locations – Aptos and Freedom on June 25, Felton at a later date to be determined – will close amid the second bankruptcy filing for Pennsylvania-based pharmacy chain Rite Aid.
Two local Rite Aid pharmacies will close later this month amid the national retailer’s bankruptcy proceedings. The stores at 1988 Freedom Blvd. in Freedom and 80 Rancho Del Mar are slated to shutter on June 25.
A third store, on Highway 9 in Felton, will also be closing, but no timeline has been announced.
The closures come after Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy a second time. At its peak, the company operated more than 1,200 stores in 15 states.
The company’s stores in Capitola and Santa Cruz closed in late 2023. The former Rite Aid location next to the Whole Foods Market on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz has now been reborn as the Santa Cruz Athletic Club, which opened to members last month. The former Capitola storefront in the King’s Plaza Shopping Center on 41st Avenue remains vacant, but Benjamin Ow, principal at Ow Commercial, said his company is in talks to fill the space.
It’s been a rough few years for many national retail pharmacy chains. Walgreens and CVS have also closed stores around the country, with more anticipated. CVS expects to close 271 stores this year, according to Newsweek, following close to 900 closures that took place between 2022 and 2024. Walgreens is also expected to close another 500 stores this year. At this time, neither company has released a full list of which stores will be closing this year.
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