Four Santa Barbara County Rite Aid stores will close after the company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in two years.
The Santa Barbara County stores were spared from the initial list of 115 stores closing across the country, but Rite Aid announced that an additional 111 stores will be closing, according to court documents filed May 30.
The four Santa Barbara County stores include:
- 199 N Fairview Ave. in Goleta
- 616 Alamo Pintado Road in Solvang
- 345 Town Center West in Santa Maria
- 2405 S Broadway in Santa Maria
The Goleta location is set to close June 29, the Rite Aid on Town Center will close July 2 and the Broadway location will close July 5, according to store employees.
The Solvang pharmacy will close July 7 but it’s unclear when the store itself will close, according to store employees.
The two Santa Barbara Rite Aids at 1976 Cliff Dr. and 35 S Milpas St. will remain open for now. However, if they aren’t sold to another company, they could close for good.
On May 15, Rite Aid announced that it was transferring pharmacy assets from more than 1,000 stores to various retailers including Walgreens, CVS, Albertsons, and Kroger. Matt Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer of Rite Aid, said they did this to ensure customers still had access to prescriptions.
“A key priority for Rite Aid is to ensure that as many of our loyal customers as possible continue to receive the pharmacy services and care they require without interruption,” Schroeder said in a statement at the time. “These agreements ensure our pharmacy customers will experience a smooth transition while preserving jobs for some of our valued team members.”