Quick Take
The Rite Aid in King’s Plaza Shopping Center in Capitola is set to close as part of the company's bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings. The second Rite Aid closure in Santa Cruz County this year comes amid ongoing struggles for retail pharmacies, including falling sales and high debt.
Pharmacy customers in Santa Cruz County will have one fewer option after the Rite Aid in Capitola closes next week.
The King’s Plaza Shopping Center store is one of 30 additional Rite Aids that will shutter as part of the company’s ongoing bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings. Earlier this year, about 100 stores closed nationally, including the one next to Whole Foods on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz.
Benjamin Ow, principal at Ow Commercial, which owns King’s Plaza, said he learned of the Capitola closure last week.
“We’ve heard differing reports but the latest we’ve heard was Dec. 18 for the closing date,” he said.
Calls to the store Tuesday were not answered. On Sunday afternoon, the shelves were already bare as the store prepared for the closure. Ow said he is just starting to consider other options for the 21,440-square-foot space on 41st Avenue. “We’re working with other interested parties but it’s still early days,” he said.
Meanwhile, the building next door remains empty after the departure of Lucky supermarket in August. New Leaf Community Markets will be moving its Capitola store from its current 41st Avenue location into this space in 2024. While no timeline has been announced, brand manager Lindsay Gizdich said the move is anticipated in late summer/early fall.
Ow’s family also owns 901 Soquel Ave., where the other Rite Aid closed in early November.
“We have proposals from a few different operators and we are negotiating with them to determine the best path forward,” said Ow. “Our goal is to select a new operator/tenant for the space in the next week or two.”
The closure of Rite Aid in Capitola comes as retail pharmacies continue to struggle. Earlier this year, Walgreens announced it planned to close 150 stores nationally by August 2024, though the company has not yet said which locations it would shutter. The Walgreens in downtown Santa Cruz closed in 2020.
Rite Aid, the third-largest standalone pharmacy chain in the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October amid falling sales, opioid-related lawsuits and high debt, according to The Associated Press.
A statement released by the company about the closures said, “for our customers, we make every effort to ensure they have access to health services, whether at another Rite Aid or other nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services. We will also strive to transfer associates to other Rite Aid locations where possible. We will continue to keep our website updated with information about which stores are open.”
Rite Aid stores in Aptos, Felton and Freedom remain open. A company spokesperson said they don’t comment on how many employees individual stores have.
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