Rite Aid closing seven stores in California, including one in Bay Area

Rite Aid is reportedly closing an additional seven stores in California — including one in the Bay Area — as part of a financial restructuring plan, according to reports.

Bankruptcy court filings in November revealed that the national pharmacy company plans to shut 31 stores in a dozen states, including the 1350 North Vasco Road location in Livermore, according to CNN Business and the East Bay Times. Several stores remain in the Bay Area region.

Rite Aid representatives did not immediately respond to the Chronicle’s request for comment.

The recent store closures come weeks after the company said in court documents in October that it was closing 31 stores in California after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company cited debt, declining sales, costs involving more than 1,600 opioid-related lawsuits and other reasons for the bankruptcy filing.

In addition to the Livermore store, the other locations targeted for closure in California are 1020 Al Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe, 11230 Donner Pass Road in Truckee, 1475 41st Ave. in Capitola (Santa Cruz County), 49060 Road 426 in Oakhurst (Madera County), 5747 Kanan Road in Agoura Hills (Los Angeles County), and 4980 Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento.

Rival drugstore chains Walgreens and CVS have also closed several stores across the country, though for different reasons. Walgreens cited retail theft for closing five stores in San Francisco in 2021, but a company executive this year acknowledged that it may have exaggerated the threat of the problem.