Walgreens Plans To Shutter 5 Stores On South, West Sides In February

CHICAGO — Walgreens plans to shutter pharmacies on Chicago’s South and West Sides this winter. The closures will affect stores in Bronzeville, Chicago Lawn, Little Village, South Shore and South Chicago.

The closures are part of a larger plan to close1,200 stores over the next three years as the struggling drugstore chain headquartered in Deerfield attempts to complete a successful financial turnaround.

About 500 of the closures would occur in the current fiscal year, which began in September, the company stated. The closures were announced as the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $3 billion. Still, Walgreens officials remained optimistic about the chain's long-term survival prospects.

The chain confirmed that these five stores would be closed around Feb. 17:

• 7111 S. Western Ave. in Chicago Lawn
• 4005 W. 26th St.
• 9148 S. Commercial Ave.
• 3405 S. King Drive in Bronzeville
• 7109 S Jeffery Blvd.

Walgreens officials blame increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures weigh in on the company’s abilities to cover the costs of rent, staffing and supply needs.

“It is never an easy decision to close a store. We know that our stores are important to the communities that we serve, and therefore do everything possible to improve the store performance,” a Walgreens spokesperson told Crain’s. “When closures are necessary, like those here in Chicago, we will work in partnership with community stakeholders to minimize customer disruptions. We intend to redeploy the majority of our team members from those stores that we close.”

Plans are to relocate employees from the stores slated to close next month to other Walgreens locations. Pharmacy records of customers will also be transferred to the nearest location.

The closures spark concerns about South and West Side residents’ access to needed medications and prescriptions as other pharmacies have come and gone. Residents in those neighborhoods may now have to travel farther to get their prescriptions filled.

South Side state lawmakers said in a statement to Block Club Chicago that the Walgreens closures would be a “devastating blow.”

“Corporate chains like Walgreens have driven mom-and-pop pharmacies out of business, consolidating control over vital services in our neighborhoods,” the statement read. “Now, as they abandon these communities, they are leaving behind pharmacy deserts that make it even harder for working families to access the care they need.”