Rite Aid closing two Berrien County stores, over 350 nationwide

NILES, Mich. -- The drug store chain Rite Aid is facing financial issues that is forcing the company to close over 350 stores across the United States, including two in Berrien County.

As of Wednesday morning, the Rite Aid in Niles has large signs up that state the store is closing and offering deep discounts as part of a going-out-of-business sale.

According to commercial real estate firm Retail Specialists, the number of pharmacies that Rite Aid plans to close has hit 367 in the past few weeks and real estate news site CoStar has put together an online map of all the expected closings. 

The Philadelphia-based drug store chain has settled lawsuits against them claiming that they filled opioid prescriptions they knew to be fraudulent which played a big part in the company filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October of 2023. 

“Pharmacies and pharmacists have an affirmative legal duty to ensure that the prescriptions they fill are legitimate,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko. “When they disregard this responsibility and instead ignore red flags indicating that prescriptions for addictive painkillers are invalid, they violate the public’s trust and harm the community they are supposed to serve — all to make a buck.

The company says it currently has 1,700 retail pharmacy locations across 16 states and employs more than 51,000 people.