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One of two Rite Aid stores in North Utica will close at the end of the business day on Wednesday, March 10.

But customers at the Herkimer Road location won't have to look far for a new pharmacy: The second Rite Aid store is located directly across the street in the Price Chopper Plaza.

One of two Rite Aid stores in North Utica will close at the end of the business day on Wednesday, March 10.

But customers at the Herkimer Road location won't have to look far for a new pharmacy: The second Rite Aid store is located directly across the street in the Price Chopper Plaza.

Corporate spokeswoman Ashley Flower said Rite Aid's goal is to have "a seamless transition" for customers who must now switch stores. Prescriptions and patient records will be moved automatically. Employees at the closing store also will be given new positions at area Rite Aids.

Flower said the 121 Herkimer Road store will reopen briefly starting Saturday, March 20, for a liquidation sale expected to last into April.

The remaining store at 208 Herkimer Road is a newer location and was built as part of the company's "Customer World" design initiative.

"We really think it’s the better opportunity (and) the better shopping experience for our customers," Flower said.

The Herkimer Road location is the third Utica Rite Aid to close in approximately the past two years. A store at 167-169 Genesee St. in downtown Utica closed in January 2008. Another at the intersection of Court and Schuyler streets in West Utica closed in October 2009.

Rite Aid will begin its transfer of local stores tonight, as the computer systems for several local stores including two in Rome transfer pharmacy customer information to Walgreens.

Customers at the Rite Aid locations at 1616 and 1709 Black River Blvd. have been told that the pharmacies at those locations were to close at 5 p.m. today for computer upgrade.

“Those stores are part of the deal,” said Rite Aid spokesperson Ashley Flower. “They are being sold to Walgreens.” This is part of the transition of ownership that should take place through the spring, she said.

The initial announcement came in September, when the companies announced almost 2,000 Rite Aid locations would be sold to Walgreens along with three distribution centers.

Locally, the Rite Aid stores to change ownership are the two in Rome on Black River Boulevard, along with locations in Utica, Barneveld, Boonville, Herkimer, Frankfort and Ilion.

The Rite Aid store on Erie Boulevard West was not among the stores set to change ownership tonight.

Initially the stores will remain branded as Rite Aid, Flower noted, but will eventually be re-branded as Walgreens locations.

The immediate impact is that prescription information will be transferred to Walgreens.

Customers can still get their per filled prescriptions at the same locations or switch to existing Walgreens, officials said.

If customers want to stay with Rite Aid and fill their perceptions at other Rite Aid stores, Flower said, they can consult their pharmacists for assistance on site.

Next Thursday, Milpitas will lose its sole Rite Aid store.

“I can confirm the location in Milpitas is closing,” Rite Aid spokeswoman Ashley Flower said. “Its last day of business will be Feb. 1 and we will then close briefly and reopen for a liquidation period about a week or so after that.”

The Rite Aid is located in the Parktown Plaza at 1350 S. Park Victoria Drive.

“The reason for the closing is it was purely a business decision — one we never like to make or want to make, but again it was a business decision,” Flower said.

The spokeswoman would not elaborate.

On Friday, the store manager stood sweeping up the bottom shelves in the makeup aisle, which was empty. He declined to talk about the closure, referring questions to Rite Aid’s corporate office, and would not allow any photographs to be taken of the store’s interior.

Flower said patients’ pharmacy files will be transferred to the nearby Walgreens. The closest Walgreens is across the street at 2105 Morrill Ave., in San Jose.

The company is working with employees at that store to relocate them if they choose to stay with Rite Aid, according to Flower.

Rite Aid Corp. is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third-largest in the United States, employing roughly 89,000 associates, its website states. In 1962, the company opened its first store — known then as Thrift D Discount Center — in Pennsylvania. Six years later, the company officially changed its name to Rite Aid Corp.

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BUCKHANNON – Today, when the pharmacy inside the Buckhannon Rite Aid opens its doors, it will open as a Walgreens pharmacy, according to a corporate spokesperson.

The transition is the first step in converting the Rite Aid store into a Walgreens, Rite Aid spokesperson Ashley Flowers told The Record Delta Thursday. In September 2017, Rite Aid and Walgreens reached an agreement whereby the Rite Aid Corporation will sell 1,932 of its stores – including all of the locations in West Virginia – three distribution centers and related inventory to Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

According to a revised agreement, Walgreens is paying Rite Aid $4.3 billion in cash for the stores, Flowers said.

“The Buckhannon store and all the West Virginia stores that we currently operate are included in that transaction,” Flowers said.

The pharmacy will be known as a Walgreens pharmacy beginning today.

However, Flowers said the transition will take place in two phases: first, there will be a transfer of ownership, meaning that the rest of the Buckhannon store will operate under the umbrella of Walgreens, even if signage still designates it as a Rite Aid store.

“Down the road, Walgreens will work to convert the store to their branch, signage merchandise,” Flowers said. “We are hoping to convey ownership to all of the affected stores by this spring 2018.”

That doesn’t mean Rite Aid is closing up shop. According to Flowers, the corporation will still operate about 2,595 stores going forward as well as six distribution centers.

“Of course, our pharmacy is the core of our business,” Flowers added. “We offer personalized unique solutions to our patients so they can live well and stay well. We like to be there to provide the resources and support they need to achieve their goals as they progress in their individual wellness journey.”

A Walgreens corporate spokesperson did not return telephone messages The Record Delta’s.

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  I faithfully shop at the rite aid near my home and find the store to be great to do business at for prescriptions and small fast shopping trips for all my what nots.

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