News Photo by Courtney Boyd The Rite Aid located on U.S.-23 South, on Wednesday, is seen decked out in signs and banners to let customers know the store will be closing and everything’s on sale.

ALPENA — In October 2023, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. What was originally supposed to be only 150 stores closing has turned into 500 and counting, according to CBS News.

Michigan has seen dozens of Rite Aid stores join the growing list of closures, including two in Alpena and Rogers City respectively. The stores are located on U.S.-23 in Alpena and Bradley Highway in Rogers City.

Residents say the stores shuttering will heavily impact their communities.

“I think it’s inconvenient,” Alpena resident Bob Newton said. Newton has lived in Alpena for 30 years and said Rite Aid is where he primarily gets prescriptions filled.

“It’s a big loss to the community,” he said. “With Rogers City’s closing too, it’s a big loss there too.”

Once it closes, Newton said he’d likely switch to the Meijer pharmacy, since he grocery shops there and would be convenient for him.

Residents outside the city limits are also feeling the effects of the closure. Curtis Robinette lives in Ossineke but works at the Tractor Supply in Alpena.

“It’s sad to see this side of town dying,” he said. “I’d really love to see a supermarket make it back over this way … I’d love to see this side of town come back to life.”

Robinette said he visits Rite Aid on a weekly basis for vitamins and prescriptions and is disappointed the location will be closing.

“The employees here, I’ve known a lot of them for years and years,” he said. “It’s just disappointing to see.”

Robinette said when the store closes, he’ll likely start shopping at Walgreens.

Even those who don’t use Rite Aid had things to say about the closure.

Joy Soloman has lived in Alpena for just two years and said she gets prescriptions from LeFave Pharmacy. She described the closure as “sad.”

“I think it’s sad that anything closes cause those people need those jobs,” Soloman said. “But then, there’s always Walmart!”

Rite Aid is not the only pharmacy corporation that’s been struggling to keep up.

A little less than a month ago, Walgreens announced it would be closing roughly 25% of its stores by 2027. This would be roughly 2,150 stores out of their 8,600 open.

“We continue to face a difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the U.S. consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics which have eroded pharmacy margins,” Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said in a company press release.

In an interview with CNBC, Wentworth said that the closures are due to various factors such as prescription reimbursements, consumers being “stunned” by current prices, and theft.

“Seventy-five percent of our stores drive 100% of our profitability today,” Wentworth said in the interview. “What that means is the others we take a hard look at, we are going to finalize a number that we will close.”

This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.