A familiar business name will be fading from view in the Elmira area soon.
The Rite Aid pharmacy chain is going out of business after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Company officials made the announcement May 5, indicating “over the next few months, all Rite Aid distribution centers will close, and all stores will either close or be operated by a new owner.”
CEO Matthew Schroeder sent a letter to employees Monday that all 178 locations in New York would be eventually sold as Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings begin, eventually ending in the “strategic and value-maximizing sale process for substantially all of its assets.”
Rite Aid has 1,240 stores across 15 states, including 178 locations in New York, and 345 locations in Pennsylvania, according to its website.
One Elmira area Rite Aid location, at the corner of North Main and Second streets in Elmira, already closed for good in February 2024.
Other Elmira pharmacies slated for closure include Rite Aid locations at 1000 Pennsylvania Ave. and 209 Mount Zoar St.
In Horseheads, there are Rite Aid outlets at 2144 Grand Central Ave. and 2898 Westinghouse Road that will close if a buyer is not found.
On the Pennsylvania side, there is a Rite Aid pharmacy at 1593 Elmira St. in Sayre, and two in Towanda, at 148 Ennis Lane and 77 Reuters Blvd.
Elsewhere in the Twin Tiers, there are also Rite Aid pharmacies in Corning, Bath and Wellsboro.
Rite Aid previously filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2023 after reporting $750 million in losses for the previous fiscal year, leading to the closure of hundreds of locations, including the North Main Street store in Elmira.
Rite Aid still had $2.5 billion in debt when it emerged from the first bankruptcy.
The company said during the bankruptcy process, customers will be able to access pharmacy services and that it is “working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies.”
“For more than 60 years, Rite Aid has been a proud provider of pharmacy services and products to our loyal customers,” Schroeder said in the letter. “While we have continued to face financial challenges, intensified by the rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscapes in which we operate, we are encouraged by meaningful interest from a number of potential national and regional strategic acquirors.”
Staff writer Marcia Greenwood contributed to this story, which also includes reporting by Reuters and USA Today Network.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Rite Aid pharmacies, including several in Elmira area, likely to close unless buyer found
Reporting by Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
