The Philadelphia-based Rite Aid Corp. will file for a second bankruptcy, the company said in a news release Monday afternoon.
The group plans to file for a Chapter 11bankruptcy protection andsell off its assets, including all its stores, the company said. Rite Aid Corp. has secured$1.94 billion from lenders to support its filing process and sales, and has filed motions to support continued payment of employee wages and benefits during the proceedings.
In a letter to customers released Monday afternoon, Rite Aid said it intends to keep the majority of its stores open “for the next few months” and that pharmacy services willcontinue during that time, including prescription filling and immunizations. Following the sale of its stores and inventory, Rite Aid said,”we are working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies.”
“The second bankruptcy of Rite Aid comes as no real surprise,” Neil Saunders, the Manhattan-based managing director of the analytics group GlobalData, said in an email Monday evening. “The first bankruptcy did little to resolve the chain’s issues, and it has been teetering on the edge of survival for quite some time.”
Rite Aid filed its first Chapter 11 in 2023 and closed 26 stores on Long Island between 2023 and2024, leaving a total of 13 left as of last month. Newsday reported in April that rent had not been received at several locations, including North Bellmore, which is managed by Bellmore-based MGD Investments.
In a Monday afternoon call with Newsday, MGD president Larry Weinberger confirmed that MGD dideventually receive an April rental payment from Rite Aidand that the company wasn’t yet late on its May payment.
“It’s unfortunate to see Rite Aid in this predicament,” Weinberger said.Hesaid MGD hashad no communication with Rite Aid since the chain missed its rental payment.
Tony Tanzi, the landlord ofRite Aid in Kings Park, said he was disappointed by the news and had not received an April rental payment.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “We were hopeful they’d save the location so they could save the jobs for the people who work there. It’s been a staple of the community.”
Rite Aid could not be reached for comment Monday. Newsday has reached out to other Long Island Rite Aid landlords and property managers and is awaitingcomment.
Rite Aid was founded by Alex Grass as Thrif D Discount Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1962, rebranded as Rite Aid in 1968 and was the third-largest pharmacy chain in the United States by 1981, according to its website.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
