Locals 'shocked' by reports Rite Aid will close in Pinckney
PINCKNEY — Locals are not happy downtown Pinckney is set to lose its only pharmacy.
Rite Aid is planning to shutter all Michigan stores, according to reporting by The Detroit Free Press. That includes its location at 75 S. Dexter St. in the village.
"I feel bad for them because they're great, and they're always busy," said Jo Ellen Soesbee, who lives nearby in Hell. "I don't understand why they're closing. I was shocked."
Soesbee said she saw a rumor the store would close on a neighborhood networking app and asked a store employee, who confirmed.
"I moved all of my pharmacy stuff to Costco," she said. "They've got CVS down (in Hamburg Township), but they're going to be so overwhelmed."
While there are several pharmacies in neighboring communities, she said, "There's nothing for Pinckney."
Media representatives with Rite Aid have not responded to a request for information left Friday by The Daily. Store employees Monday told The Daily they're not allowed to comment to media.
No closing date has been announced.
News broke last week that Rite Aid is planning to shutter all Michigan stores and transfer prescriptions to Walgreens, according to several employees at the pharmacy chain.
The closest Walgreens is located in Brighton, an approximately 20-minute drive from Pinckney.
The Free Press also reported the closings will take place in waves over the summer, starting as early as July 1, according to workers who were not authorized to discuss the company's plans.
MLive reported Thursday that Rite Aid issued a statement confirming all stores in Michigan and nearly all in Ohio will close. The company then attempted to recall the statement.
"I'm not happy with it," Peter Becker, who lives nearby in Gregory, said. "It's convenient (to have a pharmacy in town), and if I needed something little, I would pick it up."
Becker said he'll "do some research" to choose a new pharmacy.
Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October and shuttered stores following declining sales and opioid lawsuits against it and other pharmacies.
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The company already closed two other locations in Livingston County, first in Brighton in 2022, and then in Howell earlier this year.
There are 186 stores in the state.
— The Detroit Free Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Rite Aid was only pharmacy in downtown Pinckney
