Rite Aid closing its doors on Broadway by next week

For all those regular customers of Rite Aid’s store and pharmacy at 5825 35 Broadway, come Dec. 3 you will no longer have a store to frequent.

If you are a regular customer, you probably know that already since many of the aisles and shelves are quite bare.

A cashier working there confirmed the date of the closure to a Riverdale Press reporter. That cashier also said the store has even stopped taking deliveries.

The Broadway location is one of at least three other Rite Aid locations in the Bronx either slated to or has already closed. Those are at 57 E. Burnside Ave. and 537-539 E. 138th St.

The closure is part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring plan for the pharmacy chain. According to recent legal filings, a judge has signed off on the rejection of leases and the sale of properties owned by the Philadelphia-based chain.

Since announcing its restructuring plan in October, Rite Aid said it will shutter 167 stores, according to court documents.

At last check, closures are affecting stores in many states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and California.

The company, which has lost a big part of its market value and marketplace battle with CVS and Walgreens, has accrued approximately $3.3 billion in debt, legal filings said.

The company had a net loss of about $1.3 billion in the first half of 2023, more than double the $441 million it lost in the same period during the previous fiscal year, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed .

The City newspaper reported last December that Rite Aid announced in March 2022 it would shut down 145 “unprofitable stores” nationally. In 2021, CVS said it would close 900 stores by 2024.

The owners of the Rite Aid Broadway store, 5825 Broadway LLC, could not be reached for comment.

It is not known what will replace it. When asked for comment, a manager told The Press to call corporate, which did not return a call.