Our town's Rite Aid went away and we're a little poorer for it

Los Angeles Times

4 days ago

It's where you'd go to grab a last-minute birthday card. Or buy your tweezers, vitamins or a cheap and tasty ice cream cone. When your kid had a school project, you could count on finding a poster board and coloring pens.
Now our local Rite Aid in South Pasadena, like many across California, is gone. And most people in our town say they're a little sad about it.
It's not the death of just one store, but another marker on what seems like the slow, inexorable demise of retail. The local mall remains open but stands in an eerie quiet, even on weekends. The only department store nearby seems to have less on its shelves every month.
None of us want to live in an Amazon-only world. But it feels like we're headed in that direction. Do we really have to order our razor blades from one of those bro-ish mail-order 'shaving clubs?'
In the spirit of keeping neighborhood-friendly commerce alive, Essential California is asking for your nominations: What's the beloved local shop or store your town can't live without? It could be a chain store, but more likely its locally owned and unique. What makes it so special? Email [e-mail] and we may write about your favorites.
Meanwhile, what's happening to Rite Aid?
The company once operated 5,000 stores nationally, before paring back to about 2,100 in 2023, the same year it declared bankruptcy. The firm cited a crushing debt load and high rents for underperforming stores.
Rite Aid announced another round of store closures that same year, shuttering 31 locations in California. In Los Angeles County, stores in Glassell Park, Mar Vista, Alhambra, Burbank, and Long Beach's Bixby Knolls shut down. Orange County lost half a dozen stores — including ones in Costa Mesa, Dana Point, Santa Ana and Yorba Linda.
Over the last year, it was hard to miss the signs that the South Pasadena store was on its way out. The most basic items went out of stock. Shelves slowly emptied. On the last day of July a text to loyal patrons made it final: 'Rite Aid at 914 Fair Oaks Ave. has closed.'
The boxy brick building, sunk below street level, was hardly an architectural gem. A couple of people focused on its sad final months and said 'good riddance.' But dozens of others answered my social media query to talk about what they'd miss about the store, which now stands empty.
The ice cream — which dated to Rite Aid's predecessor, Thrifty — got heaps of love. People lived for the Black Cherry, or Coconut Pineapple or Chocolate Malted Krunch. They liked the low prices, with one local recalling a time when a cone went for just 25 cents. Angie Walker took her kids for flu vaccines, knowing she could soften the blow with an ice cream cone 'immediately afterwards.'
Fans particularly liked the short guy who always hustled to the counter, working as if scooping that next cone really meant something. 'I will mostly miss the awesome ice cream clerk,' said Kari Afschar. 'He was there for as long as I can remember.'
Many people recalled that the pharmacists would actually pick up the phone and answer questions, unlike other chains that shunted you into voicemail-hell. They talked about how many employees remembered your name and your needs. Becky Rios called one pharmacist 'an absolute gem.'
In a pinch for one last stocking-stuffer for my wife one Christmas a few years ago, I rushed out and found a pair of plush winter gloves. They were fuzzy and purple. Alison wondered where I found such a treasure.
'At the House of Incredibly Nice Gloves,' I said. I later conceded they'd come from Rite Aid, and she still loved them. It may have been just a chain store. But it was our chain store.
Today's great photo is from Times contributor Catherine Dzilenski, who captured a local band, Left on Cypress, performing at Glendora Continental. The Basque-owned restaurant is one of the last of its kind left in California, but its 45-year history may be coming to an end soon.
Jim Rainey, staff reporterDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters
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