The Current State of Rite Aid

The Rite Aid store in Rio Linda is looking nearly abandoned these days, but it’s not there yet.

But, how did we get here? To this state of things?

In March of 2023, Federal attorneys in Ohio filed suit against the company, lodging a complaint alleging that Rite Aid dispensed controlled substances in violation of the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act. Basically, the U.S. government has accused Rite Aid of ignoring “red flags” while filling illegal opioid prescriptions, and the company faces 1,600 other opioid lawsuits from state and local governments, hospitals, and individuals.

In October of 2023, Rite Aid announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The bankruptcy filing is an attempt by the chain to help turn things around after slowing sales, the Justice Department lawsuit, and after store closures in the previous two years.

In a press release, the company said the stores it will close will be “underperforming” ones. It’s been speculated that the company could close as many as 400 stores, but that’s not a number that has been announced by Rite Aid itself. The company has not publicly put a number on store closures, however, The Wall Street Journal reported in September that Rite Aid was negotiating with its creditors over a plan to close 400 to 500 stores.

So far, Rite Aid has closed 154 stores according to data from the US Bankruptcy Court and has added many more to the list in various court filings. 77 in March, 53 in April, and five more have been added in May…so far. We can expect this dribble of closures to continue.

(If you’re up to it, the court documents can be found here. Good luck!)

As of May 10, 2024, Only four have been identified for closure in the greater Sacramento area-

Citrus Heights, CA – 5409 Sunrise Boulevard
Sacramento, CA – 1309 Fulton Avenue
Elk Grove, CA – 7211 Elk Grove Boulevard
Sacramento, CA – 5610 Stockton Boulevard

The signs aren’t good for the Rio Linda store- Weeds overgrowing the property, trash on the lot, unaddressed trash dumped near the dumpster enclosure, a taco stand operating on the sidewalk, broken windows unrepaired, and worst of all, bare shelves.

Will the Rio Linda store be spared the axe? There’s no way of knowing, but based on my research, I have concerns for the entire company.