Rite Aid in Hampton Bays to close pharmacy on June 24

Rite Aid’s Hampton Bays pharmacy is scheduled to close near the end of the month as the once prominent drugstore chain continues to wind down its operations following its May bankruptcy filing.

The store, at 50 E. Montauk Hwy., will close its pharmacy operation on June 24, an employee at the location confirmed Wednesday after consulting with their manager.

Store management, however, was not told by corporate ownership when the rest of the Hampton Bays store would close. 

Officials with Rite Aid did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The landlord of the Hampton Bays location did not immediately respond to comment requests.

Prescription information for existing pharmacy customers at the Hampton Bays location will be transferred to the Southampton Rite Aid — roughly a 15-minute drive away — a store manager at the Southampton location confirmed Wednesday.

The pharmacy closure is part of Rite Aid’s larger national bankruptcy proceedings.

In early May, Philadelphia-based Rite Aid Corp. announced it had filed for bankruptcy for the second time in two years. The company has been in the process of selling off its assets, including its stores, the company said in early May.

As of early June, the chain had under 20 locations left on Long Island, according to the company's online store locator.

Other pharmacies at Rite Aid locations scheduled to close, according to store managers and employees, include: West Islip, which will close its pharmacy on July 9 before closing the entire location on July 29; Lindenhurst and Shirley, which will both close their pharmacies on July 15; and Kings Park, which will close its pharmacy operation on July 22. 

Rite Aid said in a letter to customers on May 5 that the chain planned to keep most of its stores open “for the next few months” and that pharmacy operations would continue during that period.

Prior to filing for Chapter 11 this year, Rite Aid had not paid rent at several Long Island locations, Newsday reported in April. 

The company said it was also “working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies.”