Downtown Spokane Rite Aid to close, leaving neighborhood residents with few options for drug store convenience

Rite Aid will close its store in downtown Spokane Dec. 6, the company announced a month after filing for bankruptcy, leaving some residents with few nearby options for prescriptions or sundries .

In light of the closure, the store will not operate during the weekend and will only be open during the week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Rite Aid regularly assesses its retail footprint to ensure we are operating efficiently while meeting the needs of our customers, communities, associates and overall business,” the company wrote in a statement. “In connection with the court-supervised process, we notified the Court of certain underperforming stores we are closing to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance.”

Rite Aid notified the bankruptcy court on Oct. 17 that it would close 154 stores, including 11 Rite Aid and Bartell Drugs locations in western Washington. The company wrote in its statement that it has not made any decisions on additional store closures at this time.

Customer prescriptions for the downtown location will be transferred to the south hill Rite Aid at 810 East 29th Ave. nearly 3 miles away.

For many, the closure is a minor inconvenience. Resident Jeremiah Cox said he occasionally stops at the downtown store for groceries and toiletries on his way back home from work at Fairchild Air Force Base

But some frequent customers, such as downtown resident Eric Griffith, used the downtown store to meet a number of needs, including getting their medication.

“I fill my prescriptions here, I come here for cosmetics, food, toiletries, they’re pretty much my go-to when I want a nice drink,” Griffith said just outside the downtown Rite Aid. “This is going to affect me greatly; I’m going to have to travel 3 miles when I could basically walk out my front door to this place.”

For groceries and other goods he’ll need on a regular basis, Griffith said he’ll probably have to go the physical extra mile to Rosauers Supermarket.

“And that’s unfortunate, because their prices are pretty steep,” he added. “This is affordable, and I don’t have to walk far.”

The nearest pharmacy to the closing downtown Rite Aid is Hart and Dilatash Pharmacy two blocks away across the street from the Bank of America Financial Center tower.