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Whither Rite Aid? 19 comments

Posted at 11:37 pm in commentary

4730 Forest Drive:

6118 Saint Andrews Road

7900 Garners Ferry Road:

Commenter Mr. BO sends the pictures of the Garners Ferry Rite Aid, saying

I remember when this place was Rosewood Furniture which was raised to make an Eckerds, then I think it was a CVS for a short while before becoming a Rite-Aid. Now Wallgreens purchased the place. With a Wallgreens just a block away, I sort of fear for this store's future. They're not in the system yet so I can't do my prescriptions from Rite-aid's web site and the transfer function only lets you select the store across Garner's ferry from Hazelwood.

I had noticed similar signs on the Forest Acres and Irmo Rite Aid stores: This Rite Aid now has a Walgreens Pharmacy, which is rather like going to Sears and seeing a sign saying This Sears is now stocked by J C Penny.

Looking at google, and Wikipedia, what seems to have been going on is that Walgreens tried to buy the whole of Rite Aid, but the merger was not approved for anti-trust reasons, and Walgreens ended up with only about 2000 Rite Aid locations. Now, the rump Rite Aid chain is in negotiations with the Albertson grocery chain to merge with it.

What actually happens to the stores that Walgreens got is unclear. I would expect many of them to eventually be reflagged, but some of them are really too close to existing Walgreens locations, and those will probably be closed. How close is "too close"? We'll know when it happens, I suppose.

UPDATE 25 September 2018 -- As mentioned by several commenters, the Saint Andrews Road store is now officially a Walgreens:

Written by ted on April 30th, 2018

Tagged with commentary, drugstores, mergers, Rite Aid, Walgreens

Happy April 15th! no comments

Posted at 3:23 am in commentary

Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors -- and miss
-- Robert Heinlein

Written by ted on April 15th, 2018

Tagged with IRS, Joe Martin, taxes

Spring Is Here! no comments

Posted at 11:57 pm in commentary

Enjoy it while you can:

Written by ted on March 20th, 2018

Tagged with Columbia, Spring, Vernal Equinox, wisteria

I Think They Have A Cream For That no comments

Posted at 10:49 pm in commentary

Written by ted on January 8th, 2018

Tagged with Grand Strand, out-of-area, Pawleys Island

Merry Christmas Columbia! 2 comments

Posted at 11:59 pm in commentary

Written by ted on December 24th, 2017

Tagged with Christmas, The Temptations

Just 'cause it's 'tis the season no comments

Posted at 12:01 am in commentary

Written by ted on December 24th, 2017

Tagged with Christmas, Waitresses

I'll Be Home For Christmas 1 comment

Posted at 2:05 am in commentary

Back again.

Always nice to head somewhere warm during the Winter months. When your blood is getting too thin for South Carolina, you know you're getting old..

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by ted on December 23rd, 2017

Tagged with Christmas, Fernandina Beach, Florida, Melbourne, Orlando, out-of-area, Saint Augustine, Weeki Wachee

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been 12 comments

Posted at 1:31 pm in commentary

Welcome to folks coming from the Free Times! I'm going to pin this post to the top for a while. Things are a bit slow right now during the holidays, but read on and have a look around -- you may find something that suits your fancy.

On Saturday 29 December 2007, I made the first posting here at Columbia Closings. It was a Mission Statement for a site I had been inching towards for a while. The next day I made my first real post, about the closing of Al Amir on Devine Street. I wasn't sure in those early days exactly what was going to happen, and I suppose I still am not. Whatever it was and is, it has given me the chance to ride around taking pictures, share my thoughts on vanished (and vanishing) Columbia and solicit your comments on the same. In fact, the emphasis has shifted your way over the years. In the beginning, I had some stories I wanted to tell, and gradually I have told most of them. Now, more often than not, I will post pictures and some basic information, and you will take it from there. You can add your comments to any post, or just leave general comments at the Have Your Say link. If you ever wonder Is There A Post On That?, you can check the Alphabetical Closings link here or above. There may well be one, but if not, ask and I may add your request to my queue of posts to do.

As you can guess from the site title, this blog mostly concentrates on Columbia South Carolina retail history and nostalgia. However, if I am travelling and see something out of the area that interests me, I won't hesitate to post it here as well. In particular, I spend a lot of time on the Grand Strand and in Florida, so you never know what may pop up.

All that being said, here are some of my favorite posts from the last ten years. You may have a different set, for that matter I might have a different set on a different day, but if this is your first time at the site, I have to believe you will find *something* interesting in the posts below. You can click on either the post title, or the picture to view the full content.

Thank you for dropping by, and if something piques your interest, don't hesitate to leave a comment, and drop by regularly to see what else might catch your fancy.

Thanks everybody for a great ten years and Merry Christmas! -- Ted