The black plastic covering the word Pharmacy (see photo) confirms it: This Rite-Aid has closed. That and removal of “Rite-Aid” from the brick-front siding that flanks both sides of the front entrance. Black is for funerals, right? I was left pondering two questions: where will I get my flu and covid shots this fall and what’s next for the corner of National Ave & Kitsap Way in Bremerton?
Plenty of online tears were shed when Bartel Drugs in Seattle began closing its stores a few years ago. I haven’t seen the same reaction with local Rite-Aids. Apparently they don’t have the same type of customer base.
I’m not one to mourn any store or restaurant’s closing (except for Kate’s Jersey Subs in Manette a few years ago). The timing of this closure surprised me though. It happened fast. With only a few quick trips into Bremerton from Treasure Island all summer, I don’t even know what day it closed.
While the Rite-Aid bankruptcy filings and nationwide downsizing have been ongoing news for more than a year, I thought my Rite-Aid would be open for a few more months. I don’t recall seeing it listed in the various business articles that spelled out the Washington state closings.
Sometimes though it’s harder to determine which stores are staying open. The Bainbridge Island Rite-Aid seems safe for now, but you might wonder why that is when the other Kitsap County locations have closed.
I don’t have the built-in loyalty or needs of a prescriptions customer, but I was a good retail customer. I shopped at my Rite-Aid because it’s close to home and was a good place to get first-aid items, batteries, calendars, and office supplies. Mostly though I went there for an annual flu shot and a covid booster. No vaccination is fun, but Rite-Aid’s professional staff made the process as tolerable as possible.
Does loyalty work both ways? While researching this post, I noticed that Rite-Aid has apparently already deleted my online account. Their website displayed the following message when I tried to log in with credentials that worked great last fall: “The email address and password combination isn’t in our records.” Time to move on.
I have a couple of months to decide, but I’ll probably just move my vaccination business directly across National Ave to Walgreens. A Starbucks shares the same parking lot, and that might make the decision easier.
A Grocery Outlet recently opened in the old Rite-Aid building in Belfair. But as for the next tenant at National Ave & Kitsap Way, I can’t guess. It could attract a variety of businesses, including a CVS Pharmacy. (The Pharmacy sign was covered not removed.) Decades ago, the Haselwood Auto Group operated out of the same location. Haselwood sold me my first new car—a silver 1980 Honda Accord hatchback.
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