South Coast Rite Aid Stores Prepare to Close – What You Should Know

Two Rite Aid stores in Santa Barbara were hoisting store closing signs with limited inventory. These location closures follow the shutdown of four other stores in Santa Barbara County last month.

Highlights

• Two Santa Barbara Rite Aid stores are showing signs of closure amid ongoing nationwide downsizing.
• Cliff Drive and Milpas Street locations have little remaining inventory, with significant discounts.
• Prescriptions are being redirected to CVS as Rite Aid restructures.

Two More Rite Aid Closures Follow Weeks After Four Locations Shut in Santa Barbara

The Rite Aid locations on 1976 Cliff Dr. and 35 S Milpas St. in Santa Barbara are hosting empty shelves, with only a few items and a select few personal care items gracing the stores. The Cliff Drive store has very little inventory, and most of what is left has been discounted.

In June, Rite Aid announced that two Santa Maria stores, as well as one each in Solvang and Goleta, would be closing. These closures were part of the country-wide effort since the company filed for bankruptcy for a second time in two years, reports Noozhawk.

Prescriptions are being redirected to local CVS pharmacies with CVS stating on its website that it welcomes Rite Aid customers. In May, the company stated that their assets would be redistributed to various retailers such as CVS, Kroger, Albertsons, and Walgreens.

KEYT News reported that a sign on the front door of Rite Aide on Milpas Street in Santa Barbara urged customers to use their gift cards by June 5.

Last month, Rite Aid’s own in-store ice cream brand, Thrifty Ice Creams was acquired by Hilrod Holdings, a holding company handled by Monster Beverage Corporation executives Hilton Schlosberg and Rodney Sacks. As per court documents, the acquisition was set to be made to the tune of $19.2 million.

[Ed Note: This article has been updated to include proper credit to additional sources for original reporting.]