Naugatuck Store Closing Amid Pharmacy Chain's Bankruptcy Proceedings

NAUGATUCK, CT — Naugatuck was in the mix as one Connecticut Rite Aid store was to close Thursday and two others will be closing next week and the following week, respectively, as the once-mighty pharmacy chain endures bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years.

The company listed liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion in a Chapter 11 petition filed in New Jersey bankruptcy court. The Connecticut locations appeared on a list Tuesday as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

The doomed stores are:

• Cheshire at 180 Main St. — closing Thursday
• Danbury at 113-115 Mill Plain Road — closing on May 14
• Naugatuck at 56 Rubber Ave. — closing on May 19

Rite Aid Monday filed its second bankruptcy after the previous restructuring reduced the pharmacy chain's debt but still left it on shaky financial footing. The Philadelphia-based drug store chain also announced it is seeking a buyer, and said that re-filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will speed up the process.

Rite Aid initially said it planned to keep its stores open, but that apparently changed a day later.

Rite Aid will still have a presence in Danbury. After the closures Connecticut roster will also include:

• Wolcott
• Norwalk
• Stratford
• Milford
• Ridgefield
• Brookfield

Rite Aid employees will continue to receive pay and benefits. But the company told employees it will cut jobs after failing to secure additional financing from its lenders, Bloomberg News reported, citing an internal letter from Schroeder.

Rite-Aid is the nation's third largest pharmacy chain behind CVS and Walgreens. All three have suffered financial difficulties and shuttered hundreds of stores in recent years.

Rite-Aid operated about 2,000 pharmacies as recently as 2023 but now has only about 1,240 stores as it enters its second bankruptcy.