Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

norcalriteaidclerk wrote: August 8th, 2022, 1:34 pm
Lastly,another quiet Portland closure with the past month:the 'other' Aloha store at 20225 Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway was a former Payless in a center shared with Safeway.It appeared to be remodeled first into the RA-1 format and then the Wellness 2.0 decor.The pharmacy-less Safeway across the lot still has the ribbon-leaf logo and has yet to remodel out of the mid-1990's decor.
That TV Highway Rite Aid in Aloha was a nice looking store (was in there last year), very clean and neat. Not much traffic. Very shiny looking Wellness remodel. The Safeway there was remodeled into the Colorful Lifestyle interior by way of wall repaint (kept most of the old refrigeration, etc.; very low budget remodel but did add self checkouts). That Safeway (no pharmacy) had very little traffic and I will be surprised if it makes it.

The other TV Highway Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway also next to a Safeway (with a pharmacy) in similar condition, was a larger store with more dead space but seemed a little busier. Still that store had a service bell taped to the register counter with mailing tape so I guess it is always there, and nobody is concerned at all about watching the door for theft as when I went up there the 2 front end employees were back near the back wall talking about something, this was in the middle of the day on a Saturday, not late at night or something. The Safeway there also had a low budget remodel into Colorful Lifestyle and kept old flooring/displays, it was more run down, but certainly a little bit improved.

I find it funny Rite Aid closed the store in a shopping center where Safeway had no pharmacy. I wonder if Safeway will be able to add a pharmacy to its store now. That could help their marginal store become somewhat more useful for the neighborhood. The other Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway is one of 3 pharmacies in the same shopping center so that comes off a bit redundant. Funny what stores get selected to close.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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For the most part,most of the wellness remodels that happened in or around Sacramento were done right.I did however notice(via Google Maps)that the Santa Cruz location(1970's former Thrifty in a center shared with a Whole Foods that was initially an Alpha Beta based on the double-oval street sign)had a cheapie wellness conversion which kept the terrazzo flooring,a small pharmacy(though with updated signage),the old-style checkout lanes(as opposed to the countertop setup),and many old-style fixtures(including a front corner mini-office which wasn't uncommon in former Thrifty locations,7000 Sunrise definitely had this before being replaced by 7900 Arcadia).I have to wonder if Santa Cruz still had Thrifty decor as late as a decade ago(before this cheapened wellness remodel that makes stores with RA-1/Rite Choice decor look nicer than this).

Closer to home,Sacramento 5712 Folsom is now listed for lease.I first noticed on the Google Maps aerial that this very old former Thrifty(opened March 1959)had an odd shape to it and it turns out(via the listing's floorplan that reflected the final configuration of the Thrifty/RAD according to the 2012 remodel into the first version of the Wellness Decor)that the backroom is actually wider than the sales floor which was odd for an old Thrifty(the current Wells Fargo which may or may not be the original bank tenant lies in front of the outward extension of the Thrifty/RAD backroom).I never noticed it the lone time I visited it(late-2009/early 2010)though it did notice that was ancient based one the style of low ceiling that included round air diffusers and while walking to the 59th street Gold Line light rail station noticing the gable in the back of the Thrifty/RAD(which had an odd facade even when it first opened).In fact,the first time I was ever in that neighborhood(1988-ish when the folks were looking at an old Jeep Wagoneer for sale to replace a VW Microbus),I did notice the pylon sign for the then Lucky(later Albertsons,now Save Mart)and didn't think too much of it maybe because the entire center was expanded and falsefronted years before and the Thrifty already had the oval sign that it lacked the first quarter century it was in business mainly because the oval logo didn't exist until the early 1970's(the Thrifty was slightly expanded though not as much as the Lucky,I wonder if the current Petco was the former JJ Newberry variety store).This location was the longest continuously operating Thrifty in Sacramento when it closed months back.
For your life,Thrifty and Payless have got it.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

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norcalriteaidclerk wrote: August 9th, 2022, 10:14 pm For the most part,most of the wellness remodels that happened in or around Sacramento were done right.I did however notice(via Google Maps)that the Santa Cruz location(1970's former Thrifty in a center shared with a Whole Foods that was initially an Alpha Beta based on the double-oval street sign)had a cheapie wellness conversion which kept the terrazzo flooring,a small pharmacy(though with updated signage),the old-style checkout lanes(as opposed to the countertop setup),and many old-style fixtures(including a front corner mini-office which wasn't uncommon in former Thrifty locations,7000 Sunrise definitely had this before being replaced by 7900 Arcadia).I have to wonder if Santa Cruz still had Thrifty decor as late as a decade ago(before this cheapened wellness remodel that makes stores with RA-1/Rite Choice decor look nicer than this).

That Folsom Blvd. Thrifty also had an area in the back of the store where the pharmacy stuck out of the wall a bit, creating an alcove of sorts for whatever merchandise was beyond it (pharmacy was in around but not exactly in the middle of the back wall). I still can't believe that store is closed but 60+ years is a good run I guess.

The bank space was a Wells Fargo in the late 90's for sure.

I still think that old Thrifty layout is the most functional drugstore layout there is. I wonder why that Santa Cruz Store kept the layout and older floor (which I also think looks great). The small pharmacy is a definite minus but the simple aisle layout, defined department space for photo/cosmetics (and liquor in some cases), the raised manager office which is able to overlook the entire store, combined with enough space to fit in plenty of product but not so much space that you end up with a bunch of dead space, makes for the perfect layout. Some of the older Thriftys also have a raised pharmacy prep area where the actual pharmacy is a 2-3 steps up and again this provides a raised platform for pharmacy to "look over" the store (as if they have time for that anymore). The ice cream counter is properly placed that it is obvious when customers are there and need help.

There are two CVS in Reno in former Thrifty which closed as Thrifty in the early 90's and reopened as Longs in the mid 90's and they kept that layout generally speaking as well (Lemmon Drive and 3360 S. McCarran). The RA1s in Reno Longs did heavy remodels to and made them into straight stores; CVS kept them straight also.

There is also a strange CVS in Bullhead City, AZ. This is a former Sav-On. I have also been told it was a former Thrifty from when Thrifty left AZ. The store strikes me as a 45 degree Payless build. I never saw a Thrifty with two doors like that, or a garden center. Yelp has photos- looking at the lights- definitely built as a 45 degree Payless...
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote: August 8th, 2022, 11:12 pm
norcalriteaidclerk wrote: August 8th, 2022, 1:34 pm
Lastly,another quiet Portland closure with the past month:the 'other' Aloha store at 20225 Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway was a former Payless in a center shared with Safeway.It appeared to be remodeled first into the RA-1 format and then the Wellness 2.0 decor.The pharmacy-less Safeway across the lot still has the ribbon-leaf logo and has yet to remodel out of the mid-1990's decor.
That TV Highway Rite Aid in Aloha was a nice looking store (was in there last year), very clean and neat. Not much traffic. Very shiny looking Wellness remodel. The Safeway there was remodeled into the Colorful Lifestyle interior by way of wall repaint (kept most of the old refrigeration, etc.; very low budget remodel but did add self checkouts). That Safeway (no pharmacy) had very little traffic and I will be surprised if it makes it.

The other TV Highway Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway also next to a Safeway (with a pharmacy) in similar condition, was a larger store with more dead space but seemed a little busier. Still that store had a service bell taped to the register counter with mailing tape so I guess it is always there, and nobody is concerned at all about watching the door for theft as when I went up there the 2 front end employees were back near the back wall talking about something, this was in the middle of the day on a Saturday, not late at night or something. The Safeway there also had a low budget remodel into Colorful Lifestyle and kept old flooring/displays, it was more run down, but certainly a little bit improved.

I find it funny Rite Aid closed the store in a shopping center where Safeway had no pharmacy. I wonder if Safeway will be able to add a pharmacy to its store now. That could help their marginal store become somewhat more useful for the neighborhood. The other Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway is one of 3 pharmacies in the same shopping center so that comes off a bit redundant. Funny what stores get selected to close.
Was Safeway the original tenant at the present Aloha store? It seems like that building was vacant for a while before Safeway opened, although I am not 100% sure. It just seems like a somewhat odd Safeway location. Worth noting is that there is a Big Lots store in Aloha which appears to be a former Marina Safeway...I wonder if that current Aloha store replaced this one.

I will admit though that the other location on TV highway probably sees a lot more foot traffic with Target and Ross also in the same shopping center...kinda surprising though that Safeway stuck with a low budget remodel there.

I don't quite understand Rite Aid's strategy around the Portland area. Some former PayLess stores have been remodeled, some were replaced with new locations nearby, while others seemed to wither off and die, unremodeled, with no replacement. They also seem to be avoiding some areas where Walgreens has market penetration. The 82nd Ave. corridor is a good example. Three Walgreens (there was also one near Clackamas Town Center which closed) but no other traditional drugstores. Vancouver, WA is another example. Rite Aid has left the Orchards and Hazel Dell areas (a proposed new store in Hazel Dell was never built), and local operator Hi-School Pharmacy sold their Vancouver area stores to Walgreens some time ago which instantly gained a huge presence.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by babs »

Super S wrote: August 10th, 2022, 9:01 am
storewanderer wrote: August 8th, 2022, 11:12 pm
norcalriteaidclerk wrote: August 8th, 2022, 1:34 pm
Lastly,another quiet Portland closure with the past month:the 'other' Aloha store at 20225 Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway was a former Payless in a center shared with Safeway.It appeared to be remodeled first into the RA-1 format and then the Wellness 2.0 decor.The pharmacy-less Safeway across the lot still has the ribbon-leaf logo and has yet to remodel out of the mid-1990's decor.
That TV Highway Rite Aid in Aloha was a nice looking store (was in there last year), very clean and neat. Not much traffic. Very shiny looking Wellness remodel. The Safeway there was remodeled into the Colorful Lifestyle interior by way of wall repaint (kept most of the old refrigeration, etc.; very low budget remodel but did add self checkouts). That Safeway (no pharmacy) had very little traffic and I will be surprised if it makes it.

The other TV Highway Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway also next to a Safeway (with a pharmacy) in similar condition, was a larger store with more dead space but seemed a little busier. Still that store had a service bell taped to the register counter with mailing tape so I guess it is always there, and nobody is concerned at all about watching the door for theft as when I went up there the 2 front end employees were back near the back wall talking about something, this was in the middle of the day on a Saturday, not late at night or something. The Safeway there also had a low budget remodel into Colorful Lifestyle and kept old flooring/displays, it was more run down, but certainly a little bit improved.

I find it funny Rite Aid closed the store in a shopping center where Safeway had no pharmacy. I wonder if Safeway will be able to add a pharmacy to its store now. That could help their marginal store become somewhat more useful for the neighborhood. The other Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway is one of 3 pharmacies in the same shopping center so that comes off a bit redundant. Funny what stores get selected to close.
Was Safeway the original tenant at the present Aloha store? It seems like that building was vacant for a while before Safeway opened, although I am not 100% sure. It just seems like a somewhat odd Safeway location. Worth noting is that there is a Big Lots store in Aloha which appears to be a former Marina Safeway...I wonder if that current Aloha store replaced this one.

I will admit though that the other location on TV highway probably sees a lot more foot traffic with Target and Ross also in the same shopping center...kinda surprising though that Safeway stuck with a low budget remodel there.

I don't quite understand Rite Aid's strategy around the Portland area. Some former PayLess stores have been remodeled, some were replaced with new locations nearby, while others seemed to wither off and die, unremodeled, with no replacement. They also seem to be avoiding some areas where Walgreens has market penetration. The 82nd Ave. corridor is a good example. Three Walgreens (there was also one near Clackamas Town Center which closed) but no other traditional drugstores. Vancouver, WA is another example. Rite Aid has left the Orchards and Hazel Dell areas (a proposed new store in Hazel Dell was never built), and local operator Hi-School Pharmacy sold their Vancouver area stores to Walgreens some time ago which instantly gained a huge presence.
Closing that store on TV highway (a former Food Connection and later Thriftway store) would be one of the dumbest moves Safeway could ever make. A massive subdivision is going in just blocks away. There is a Market of Choice going there but it's way too expensive for most people. There is a Fred Meyer nearby that does well but Safeway shouldn't give up their location.

Rite Aid mostly just milks the Portland market. They probably figure they have a market locked with all their locations when in reality they are turning into a bit player. Portland isn't a great drugstore market. Customer have a lot of options so Walgreens and Rite Aid aren't as major players as they are in other cities.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

babs wrote:
Super S wrote: August 10th, 2022, 9:01 am
storewanderer wrote: August 8th, 2022, 11:12 pm That TV Highway Rite Aid in Aloha was a nice looking store (was in there last year), very clean and neat. Not much traffic. Very shiny looking Wellness remodel. The Safeway there was remodeled into the Colorful Lifestyle interior by way of wall repaint (kept most of the old refrigeration, etc.; very low budget remodel but did add self checkouts). That Safeway (no pharmacy) had very little traffic and I will be surprised if it makes it.

The other TV Highway Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway also next to a Safeway (with a pharmacy) in similar condition, was a larger store with more dead space but seemed a little busier. Still that store had a service bell taped to the register counter with mailing tape so I guess it is always there, and nobody is concerned at all about watching the door for theft as when I went up there the 2 front end employees were back near the back wall talking about something, this was in the middle of the day on a Saturday, not late at night or something. The Safeway there also had a low budget remodel into Colorful Lifestyle and kept old flooring/displays, it was more run down, but certainly a little bit improved.

I find it funny Rite Aid closed the store in a shopping center where Safeway had no pharmacy. I wonder if Safeway will be able to add a pharmacy to its store now. That could help their marginal store become somewhat more useful for the neighborhood. The other Rite Aid at 2425 SE TV Highway is one of 3 pharmacies in the same shopping center so that comes off a bit redundant. Funny what stores get selected to close.
Was Safeway the original tenant at the present Aloha store? It seems like that building was vacant for a while before Safeway opened, although I am not 100% sure. It just seems like a somewhat odd Safeway location. Worth noting is that there is a Big Lots store in Aloha which appears to be a former Marina Safeway...I wonder if that current Aloha store replaced this one.

I will admit though that the other location on TV highway probably sees a lot more foot traffic with Target and Ross also in the same shopping center...kinda surprising though that Safeway stuck with a low budget remodel there.

I don't quite understand Rite Aid's strategy around the Portland area. Some former PayLess stores have been remodeled, some were replaced with new locations nearby, while others seemed to wither off and die, unremodeled, with no replacement. They also seem to be avoiding some areas where Walgreens has market penetration. The 82nd Ave. corridor is a good example. Three Walgreens (there was also one near Clackamas Town Center which closed) but no other traditional drugstores. Vancouver, WA is another example. Rite Aid has left the Orchards and Hazel Dell areas (a proposed new store in Hazel Dell was never built), and local operator Hi-School Pharmacy sold their Vancouver area stores to Walgreens some time ago which instantly gained a huge presence.
Closing that store on TV highway (a former Food Connection and later Thriftway store) would be one of the dumbest moves Safeway could ever make. A massive subdivision is going in just blocks away. There is a Market of Choice going there but it's way too expensive for most people. There is a Fred Meyer nearby that does well but Safeway shouldn't give up their location.

Rite Aid mostly just milks the Portland market. They probably figure they have a market locked with all their locations when in reality they are turning into a bit player. Portland isn't a great drugstore market. Customer have a lot of options so Walgreens and Rite Aid aren't as major players as they are in other cities.
Another thing is that RAD doesn't keep its PDX locations open very late(beyond 9pm)save for select suburban locations (Hillsboro/185th). CVS only began opening standalone locations (not inside Target)a few years back.Portland may be one of the few major markets where the dominant drugstore is actually inside a super-sized supermarket (Fred Meyer).

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by storewanderer »

norcalriteaidclerk wrote: August 10th, 2022, 6:47 pmAnother thing is that RAD doesn't keep its PDX locations open very late(beyond 9pm)save for select suburban locations (Hillsboro/185th). CVS only began opening standalone locations (not inside Target)a few years back.Portland may be one of the few major markets where the dominant drugstore is actually inside a super-sized supermarket (Fred Meyer).
OR historically seems to be a place where things close early. There have been few 24 hour stores historically out of the grocers. Though I think it has changed somewhat around Portland in recent decades, for whatever reason, there just isn't much activity at night in OR.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

Summer and garden remains clearanced at 60% off and even today back stock is still being eased onto the sales floor(and still plenty of stock).Hopefully we just got sent more than last year and not slower movement than normal as one occasional customer always claims that 5409 sunrise is the slowest location that he's been in.Hopefully he always visits at the wrong time of the day.

Also,an update to the surplus property listing:the Manteca and Pacifica Fairmont leases now run through 2027(5-year extension options exercised presumably);and among the new listings,the dark leases for the Concord and Hayward stores(respective last locations in their cities at time of their closures this past spring)are among several dark store leases that come off the books next year(others being Beverly Hills Bedford,Santa Clarita Bouquet Canyon,and Sacramento/7900 Florin which actually closed in late February 2019).That is on top of the Visalia South Mooney and Los Angeles/5575 Wilshire dark leases coming off the books within the next several weeks.

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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by Brian Lutz »

Looking at the listing I see the lease on the Downtown Bellevue store expires at the end of October. I'm guessing that store gets demolished very quickly once the lease expires, even if nothing else goes up in its place.
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Re: Rite Aid closing at least 63 stores

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

Brian Lutz wrote: August 15th, 2022, 4:11 pm Looking at the listing I see the lease on the Downtown Bellevue store expires at the end of October. I'm guessing that store gets demolished very quickly once the lease expires, even if nothing else goes up in its place.
Speaking of the Puget Sound,a prior version of this listing actually listed a closed store at 28200 Pacific Highway South in Kent for sale(the property was owned outright and not leased).I wonder if this was originally Payless or Pay-n-Save.

Back to the Golden State,it appears that Hayward/31091 Mission was relatively undersized for an old Thrifty(just 11,000 square feet,5K smaller than even 5712 Folsom in its original configuration).Then again,its parent center(Fairway Park)was built in the mid-to-late 1950's.
For your life,Thrifty and Payless have got it.
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