Beloved Retailer Closes All Stores After More Than 60 Years

Rite Aid has officially closed all of its stores two years after filing for bankruptcy.

"All Rite Aid stores have now closed. We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support," the company's website now reads.

Once one of America's pharmacy chains, Rite Aid operated 89 stores as of last month. At its peak, there were more than 5,000 Rite Aid pharmacies nationwide, according to The New York Times.

Rite Aid was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company grew rapidly over the next few decades, acquiring stores along the East coast and Midwest. They expanded west with the acquisition of Thrifty PayLess in 1996 which included 1,000 West coast stores.

After years of steady decline and multiple lawsuits, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023. By the end of 2023, 500 stores had closed.

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy a second time earlier this year.

At the time, CEO Matt Schroeder said the company was "pursuing a strategic and value-maximizing sale process for substantially all of its assets," according to USA Today. "As we move forward, our key priorities are ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services for our customers and preserving jobs for as many associates as possible."

"[Rite Aid] played a critical role in supporting the health care needs of countless Americans. I will be forever grateful to our thousands of associates for their commitment to Rite Aid and its mission," he added.

As for Rite Aid's famous Thrifty Ice Cream, the company was sold to privately held company Hilrod Holdings for $19.2 million in June.

Hilrod Holdings plans to "revitalize Thrifty without altering the core of what made it unforgettable for over 85 years," according to a news release.