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After 63 years, the end of Rite Aid's era has officially come to a close, with all stores shuttered and all services removed from the website except for transferring prescriptions or pharmaceutical records to another pharmacy.
We live in turbulent economic times when big brand-name store chains are dropping like flies and regular Americans are pinching pennies to try and save more on everyday essentials.
Learn everything you need to know about Rite Aid's final closing.
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The history of Rite Aid
Rite Aid was founded in Scranton, PA, in the early 1960s under the name Thrift D Discount Center. By the end of the decade, it had expanded into several more states and went public under the brand Rite Aid before reaching the New York Stock Exchange in 1970.
The chain peaked in 2008 with over 5,000 stores nationwide and over 112,000 employees. Rite Aid continued to be a major force in the pharmacy industry up until its first bankruptcy announcement in 2023.
Rite Aid announces the closure of all stores
On Oct. 3, the iconic pharmacy chain announced that all 89 remaining stores had officially been closed and all remaining assets would be liquidated.
Even the website is barren, displaying a message reading "All Rite Aid stores have now closed. We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support."
The only services remaining now are for customers to transfer their records or find a new pharmacy to fill their prescriptions.
How many stores did Rite Aid operate?
At the chain's height in 2008, it operated 5,059 stores and employed 112,800 people. By 2023, that number had dropped to about 2,000 locations when their first bankruptcy was announced. That number has now fallen to zero.
Rite Aid's financial challenges
What could bring down a major national retailer like Rite Aid? Opioids, apparently. The federal and state governments, along with private plaintiffs, brought expensive allegations against Rite Aid for oversupplying prescription painkillers, ignoring internal red flags on filling prescriptions, and generally contributing to the opioid crisis.
In response, the company claimed bankruptcy in October 2023 to put a halt to the lawsuits and pay off its $4 billion debt.
Rite Aid's bankruptcy
The first bankruptcy in 2023 was followed by an immediate delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, and then a closing of 500 Rite Aid locations in 2024, leaving about 1,240 remaining stores.
The company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2024 after eliminating $2 billion in debt. Alas, those efforts were for naught. With $2.5 billion in debt still left to pay, a second bankruptcy was announced in May 2025, and Rite Aid said it would be closing all remaining locations.
Did Rite Aid close stores in the past?
Rite Aid has been closing stores in phases. The first was in October 2023 with 154 stores, followed by additional rounds throughout 2024, with hundreds shut down. Most recently, over 100 stores closed this summer. With the final closures concluded, thousands of stores have shut down in total from the bankruptcy announcement in 2023 to the closures this month.
What happens to my prescriptions?
The official Rite Aid website is maintaining resources for former customers to find their new pharmacy, as well as request records for prescriptions and immunization history for transfer.
How are other pharmacies doing?
Rite Aid isn't the only pharmacy that's been struggling. In 2024, Walgreens announced it would be closing approximately 1,200 locations over the course of three years, and in August 2025, the company finalized a deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners, concluding its time as a publicly traded company.
CVS Health subsidiary Omnicare also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2025, and the chain has been closing stores since 2022. They shut down 900 stores between 2022 and 2024, and are planning to close an additional 270 stores in 2025.
Bottom line
Rite Aid is gone, which means former patrons will need to find a new pharmacy. The Rite Aid website is still functioning to help shoppers connect with a new location and to transfer pharmaceutical records.
But that doesn't mean all is lost. Once you head to your new pharmacy, use one of the best cash back credit cards, so you can maximize your savings on expensive prescriptions.
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