Rite Aid announced its second bankruptcy and closing of 178 stores in New York State, AMNY and the Poughkeepsie Journal reported. While the Poughkeepsie Journal cited a letter sent to employees, there has been no confirmation of employees of the Beacon location being terminated. “Over the next few months,” AMNY reported, “all Rite Aid distribution centers will close, and all remaining New York stores will either close or be operated by a new owner.”
A Citizen Reporter for ALBB has been told by sources that the Beacon location shows strong signs of remaining open after the first round of layoffs (June 4th) to await the possibility of a takeover from another pharmacy brand. People are hedging bets out on the sidewalk, and ALBB's money is on Walgreens taking it over.
Fiercehealthcare.com reported that Walgreens has been acquired and taken private by Sycamore Partners, who “agreed to pay $11.45 per share for the company, an equity value of about $10 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Walgreens said in a press release that accounting for debt and future payouts, the value could reach up to $23.7 billion.”
Rite Aid has indicated through reports that they are entertaining different sales options and has “acquired $1.94 billion in new financing to keep stores operational during the bankruptcy proceedings and potential sale,” reported the Poughkeepsie Journal. Not enough, however, for all employees, Bloomberg News reported. The first round of layoffs is expected to start June 4, AMNY reported. But for Beacon employees, this has not been confirmed yet.
Beacon’s Rite Aid withstood the store closures of during the first bankruptcy as ALBB reported, which was strongly impacted by settlements from more than 1,000 opioid lawsuits. Theft from stores is also apparently up, AMNY reported.
After the first bankruptcy, shelves remained spotty in Beacon, except for soda, beer and chips. Some brands continued to send inventory, like nail polish and makeup, eye care, allergy medication and other items hit-or-miss.
Rite Aid was one of the first corporate chain stores that ALBB reported on in a celebratory way in 2014, when they totally renovated to introduce a sliding front door and wider isles, giving the people of Beacon decency in their shopping experiences. This was a huge improvement for people needing accessibility, like people pushing strollers and people using wheelchairs. Usually a corporate critic, Ori Alon-Ray, was one of the first to tell ALBB of how he at first expected to hate on the article, but appreciated it when he realized someone in his family needed the accessibility features.
This, in a time when Beacon’s City Council made it increasingly difficult to work with corporate chains or franchises, as they just banned drive-thrus, which would include for pharmacies.
Beacon Wellness is located across the street, and Vogal, once located in the heart of Beacon, has since moved to Wappingers where it has more parking. The old spot for Vogal got renovated, had a tenant for a number of years, and has now been for rent for over one year, asking $7,200 and not budging.
People of Beacon are feeling possessive of their Rite Aid. While walking past Rite Aid on the way to Key Food, one reader, who we will call Sounds of Graphite on Paper, seethed a little under their breath as they spoke a little poetry:
this isn't the beacon i moved to.
i wanted a grocery store and a pharmacy i could walk to.
we have rite aid closing.
maybe.
to be replaced by something i can't afford.
it better not be another something big and bougie.
another restaurant selling food i can't buy.
tastes i can't eat.
