Walgreens to shutter store at Central and San Mateo
Oct. 9—Walgreens plans to close its store near Central and San Mateo — which is across the street from a Walmart grocery store that also closed earlier this year.
Karen May, a Walgreens spokeswoman, said the store will close on Nov. 7. She said efforts are underway to move employees to nearby locations.
Customers who use the pharmacy will have their prescriptions transferred to the Walgreens at 2950 Central Ave, she said.
"When faced with the difficult decision to close a location, several factors are taken into account, including our existing footprint of stores, dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers, among other reasons," May said in a statement. "As we expand as a leader in healthcare, we are focused on best meeting the needs of patients and customers in communities we serve by creating the right network of stores in the right locations."
Alvaro Gracia, who has shopped at the Walgreens for 10 years, said he and other people who rely on the pharmacy will have to travel further to fill prescriptions.
"They don't have no more choice," he said. "That's very sad."
The Walgreens announcement comes on the heels of another retail closing in the area. Walmart closed a store at 301 San Mateo SE in March. At the time, Walmart did not provide a reason for the closure, other than that the location did not meet financial expectations.
The closure led some residents to raise concerns locals in the area without access to healthy groceries. The city said it was considering purchasing the property and evaluating possible funding sources.
In July, a video went viral showing a group of men taking alcohol from the Walgreens at San Antonio and Wyoming NE and walking out of the store. Several of the men were later charged with crimes in connection with the incident.
In August, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina sent a letter to Walgreens officials asking the store to implement new tactics and other safety measures to try to reduce crime at its Albuquerque locations.
Medina said in the letter that since the start of 2022, Albuquerque police officers have responded to more than 1,000 calls for service at five Walgreens locations along the Central corridor. One store, near Central and Eubank, has seen calls for service increase 20% in a six-month period. Those calls for service cost taxpayers about $150,000 when factoring in the amount of time police officers spent responding to the store, the chief said.
"Regarding the letter, we look forward to continuing to work with the police department to address these issues, as the safety of our patients, customers and team members is our priority," May said.
Journal Staff Writer Matthew Narvaiz contributed to this report.
