The beleaguered Pennsylvania-based drug store is in talks with multiple buyers as it again files for bankruptcy protection.
Updated Thu, May 8, 2025 at 4:55 am ET
BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The Richboro Rite Aid store is the latest pharmacy to close its doors, a casualty of the drug store chain’s ongoing financial troubles.
The store, located at the Richboro Plaza on Second Street Pike, has permanently closed with signs on the door directing customers to the nearby Walgreens store for their prescription needs.
Inside the empty store front, only metal shelving remains where products once stood five or six deep waiting to be purchased. Even the store's marquee sign has been removed from the shopping center's facade.
At other Rite Aid stores that remain open, like the one on Ice Cream Alley in Newtown, on Coldspring Creamery Road in Buckingham, and at the Summit Square Shopping Center in Middletown Township, the immediate future remains uncertain.
Customers will either see their local store shutting down or new ownership take over in the next few months. In the meantime, empty shelves will become more commonplace as the pharmacy chain shuts down distribution centers and won't be buying any new inventory, according to the Associated Press.
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The Rite Aid store on Ice Cream Alley in Newtown Township. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
Rite Aid announced this week that it is "encouraged by meaningful interest" from potential national acquirers and has reentered bankruptcy proceedings to facilitate the process.
Meanwhile, the pharmacy chain said customers will still be able to fill prescriptions, get immunizations and shop in the stores or online.
In connection with the sale process and court-supervised proceedings, the company said it is working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies. Rite Aid employees assisting with the process will continue to receive pay and benefits, the company said.
In 2023, when Rite Aid entered into its first bankruptcy filing, the Pennsylvania-based pharmacy chain operated more than 2,000 pharmacies across multiple states. A wave of store closings since then has reduced that number down to 1,240 stores in 15 states.
“For more than 60 years, Rite Aid has been a proud provider of pharmacy services and products to our loyal customers,” said Matt Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer of Rite Aid. “While we have continued to face financial challenges, intensified by the rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscapes in which we operate, we are encouraged by meaningful interest from a number of potential national and regional strategic acquirers. As we move forward, our key priorities are ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services for our customers and preserving jobs for as many associates as possible.”
Schroeder continued, “I will be forever grateful to our thousands of associates for their commitment to Rite Aid and its mission, and I thank our entire team – from store associates to corporate employees – for their dedication to our customers and our company. With their support, we have played a critical role in supporting the healthcare needs of countless Americans across the communities that we are honored to serve.”