Only 1 Riverside County Rite Aid Store To Close Amid Bankruptcy Filing

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Rite Aid pharmacy chain announced Tuesday which of its underperforming stores will close under the terms outlined in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Only one store in Riverside County is on the chopping block: Store #05730 at 25906 Newport Road in Menifee.

Of the 154 stores set to close nationwide, 31 are in California with more than half located in Southern California.

According to court documents, the California stores to close include:

Store #05448: 4044 Eagle Rock Boulevard, Los Angeles
Store #05457: 4046 South Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles
Store #05466: 7859 Firestone Boulevard, Downey
Store #05521: 4402 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach
Store #05571: 935 North Hollywood Way, Burbank
Store #05585: 139 North Grand Avenue, Covina
Store #05593: 13905 Amar Road, La Puente
Store #05611: 920 East Valley Boulevard, Alhambra
Store #05635: 3813 Plaza Drive, Oceanside
Store #05638: 1670 Main Street, Ramona
Store #05657: 6505 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego
Store #05661: 8985 Mira Mesa Boulevard, San Diego
Store #05730: 25906 Newport Road, Menifee
Store #05735: 24829 Del Prado, Dana Point
Store #05753: 30222 Crown Valley Parkway, Laguna Niguel
Store #05757: 19701 Yorba Linda Boulevard, Yorba Linda
Store #05760: 1406 West Edinger Avenue, Santa Ana
Store #05772: 2738 East Thompson Blvd., Ventura
Store #05780: 720 North Ventura Road, Oxnard
Store #05967: 20572 Homestead Road, Cupertino
Store #05976: 2620 El Camino Real, Santa Clara
Store #05979: 901 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz
Store #06001: 571 Bellevue Road, Atwater
Store #06045: 5409 Sunrise Boulevard, Citrus Heights
Store #06080: 1309 Fulton Avenue, Sacramento
Store #06213: 3029 Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa
Store #06288: 959 Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles
Store #06318: 3000 South Archibald Avenue, Ontario
Store #06333: 15800 Imperial Highway, La Mirada
Store #06717: 8509 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine
Store #06769: 499 Alvarado Street, Monterey

The company did not say when the stores would shutter.

Prescriptions of customers of the affected stores will be transferred to a nearby Rite Aid or other drug store “so that there is no disruption of service,” the company said in a statement. People who work at the stores will also be transferred to other Rite Aid locations where possible, the company said.

Rite Aid’s bankruptcy comes amid slumping sales and heavy debt from an opioid lawsuit filed in March by the U.S. Justice Department. The suit accuses the company of filling prescriptions for large quantities of opioids “that had obvious, and often multiple, red flags indicating misuse.”

Other drugstore chains, including rivals CVS and Walgreens, have settled similar lawsuits but were better positioned financially. But even they are struggling and closing in a tough environment for national drugstore chains as Amazon and big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, Costco and others make it more convenient to have prescriptions filled, CNN reported.

Rite Aid said it had secured $3.45 billion in financing and debt reduction agreements that will help it stay afloat through the court-supervised bankruptcy. The company will sell off its Elixir Solutions, its prescription benefit provider.

Additionally, the agreement settles outstanding lawsuits against the company for allegedly filing unlawful opioid prescriptions, one of the exacerbating factors contributing to Rite Aid’s bankruptcy.

In a notice to the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday, Rite Aid said it was “unable, without unreasonable effort or expense,” to file its latest quarterly report as it reviewed “strategic alternatives.”

Losses that quarter are expected to be significantly higher than in the previous quarter, the company said. That’s on top of losses of about three-quarters of a billion dollars for the year ended March 2023, and losses of $307 million from March to May, CNN reported.

Rite Aid appointed a new CEO, Jeff Stein, who will lead restructuring efforts and also serve on the company’s board of directors.

“With the support of our lenders, we look forward to strengthening our financial foundation, advancing our transformation initiatives and accelerating the execution of our turnaround strategy,” Stein said in the statement. “In doing so, we will be even better able to deliver the healthcare products and services our customers and their families rely on — now and into the future.”