Rite Aid closes two more Sacramento-area locations in a week. Here’s what we know

Two Rite Aid locations closed their doors last week, joining the Pennsylvania-based pharmacy chain’s list of half a dozen Sacramento-area closures in the last three months.

The store at 1125 Alhambra Blvd. in East Sacramento closed last Tuesday, followed by the Roseville location at 990 Pleasant Grove Blvd. on Thursday.

News of the Alhambra store closure quickly circulated on Reddit Tuesday, and soon the forum was filled with numerous comments of confused Sacramentans who were “upset to hear” about their go-to pharmacy and predict the closure will “create a huge problem” for residents.

In response to the shutdown in East Sacramento, the nearby Safeway grocery store at 1025 Alhambra Blvd., less than a mile from the shuttered Rite Aid, took little time before posting signage outside its building encouraging patrons to transfer their prescriptions to its pharmacy.

In an emailed response to The Bee, Rite Aid spokesperson Alicja Wojczyk said the latest shutdowns are part of the company’s December 2021 plan to shutter more than 60 of its stores to reduce costs and improve profitability. In April, the company decided to kick the number of store closures up to 145 by June.

“We review every neighborhood to ensure our customers will have access to health services, be it at Rite Aid or a nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services,” Wojczyk said.

What’s going on with Rite Aid?

The first Sacramento-area store closed this year was 831 K St. in downtown Sacramento on Feb. 28. The store at 2211 F St. in midtown followed closely behind, turning its lights off on March 3.

Wojczyk said the store closures are part of the chain’s business plan to “drive maximum efficiencies.”

“A decision to close a store is one we take very seriously and is based on a variety of factors including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance,” she said.

The Rite Aid at 5712 Folsom Blvd. in East Sacramento shuttered its windows on March 28. The store at 3101 Green Valley Rd. in Cameron Park closed on April 6.

Wojczyk said there are currently no other Sacramento-area closures on the horizon.