Norwalk Closure Scheduled For Once-Mighty Pharmacy Chain

NORWALK, CT — A Norwalk store is doomed as Rite Aid is closing two more stores in Connecticut amid a rough financial time.

The pharmacy at the 190 East Ave. Rite Aid in Norwalk is slated for closure on June 29, with the rest of the store being shuttered sometime in July, according to staffers.

At 1387 New Haven Avenue in Milford, the pharmacy is slated to go dark on July 30, according to staffers. The front of the store will close roughly two weeks later, they said.

The latest roster trimming comes on the heels of an early may bankruptcy filing — the second time in less than two years. Rite Aid listed liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion in the Chapter 11 petition filed in New Jersey bankruptcy court.

Connecticut locations closed last month include Cheshire at 180 Main St., Danbury at 113-115 Mill Plain Road and Naugatuck at 56 Rubber Ave.

Rite Aid 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 abruptly changed.
Rite Aid will still have a presence in Danbury, along with Wolcott, Stratford, Ridgefield and Brookfield.

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.

May was also a bad month for Walgreens customers in Connecticut. The hit list included the Walgreens in East Hartford at 922 Silver Lane, along with 1350 Stanley Street in New Britain, 157 Main St. in East Haven and mDanbury Road in New Milford. The four stores closed on the heels of the store at 161 Washington St. in Hartford being shuttered on March 18 and the store at 436 Whalley Ave. in New Haven closing on March 20.