Another Centre County Rite Aid to Close

Centre County will soon be down to one Rite Aid location as the company undergoes Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring.

The Rite Aid store at 821 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte is among 31 additional locations nationwide listed for closure in a document filed Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of New Jersey. 

The Bellefonte location is the third store in Centre County identified for closure by Rite Aid in the last month, joining two State College stores at 1927 S. Atherton St. and 510 Westerly Parkway. All three stores are expected to close in December.

Centre County has one other Rite Aid location at 1536 N. Atherton St., State College.

Since filing for bankruptcy protection in October, the Philadelphia company has identified more than 200 stores for closure amid its restructuring.

The 60-year-old company, which has more than 2,100 stores in 17 states, said in October that the restructuring would allow it to “significantly reduce” its debt, close underperforming stores and “resolve litigation claims in an equitable manner.”

Rite Aid’s ongoing financial challenges include an anticipated net loss of up to $680 million for the current fiscal year. It also faces lawsuits in multiple states related to opioid prescriptions. On Nov. 16, the company filed a complaint in bankruptcy court seeking to stop a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit from proceeding while it is bankrupt.

An initial wave of 154 store closures announced in October included 40 in Pennsylvania. Additional closures have been identified in court filings over the last month.

Rite Aid’s Bellefonte closure marks the third pharmacy in the borough to shut down in the last four years. Parrish Apothecary closed in 2019 and Plumb’s Drug Store went out of business earlier this year.