Last State College Area Rite Aid to Close

The last remaining Rite Aid location in Centre County will soon close.

The drug store chain’s store at 1536 N. Atherton St. in Ferguson Township is among 17 locations identified in a court filing on Tuesday for the company’s latest round of closures as it undergoes Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring.

Three other Rite Aid stores in Centre County closed at the end of 2023: 1927 S. Atherton St. in College Township, 510 Westerly Parkway in State College and 821 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte.

A closing date for the North Atherton location was not provided. The other three Centre County stores all shut down within a month of being listed for closure.

Rite Aid had more than 2,100 stores in 17 states, but has closed hundreds of locations since filing for bankruptcy in October.

The 60-year-old company’s ongoing financial challenges include billions in debt and 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. In November, the company filed a complaint in bankruptcy court seeking to stop a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit from proceeding while it is bankrupt.

Founded in Scranton and based in Philadelphia, Rite Aid is the third-largest pharmacy chain in the United States.