One Rite Aid closes in Tri-Cities. A 2nd store is to go dark next week
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Rite Aid store and pharmacy closes in Kennewick and another Richland site is next.
- CVS at Richland Target has absorbed prescriptions from the closed location.
- The vacant store should attract tenants due to traffic volume and nearby retail anchors.
Amid a national bankruptcy and going-out-of-business sales, one Tri-Cities Rite Aid has closed and another will reportedly follow suit next week.
The bankrupt pharmacy chain is closing at least three of its five Tri-Cities stores, according to court documents.
The store at 1901 N. Steptoe St., at Gage Boulevard on the Richland/Kennewick border, closed this week, according to a hand-written sign on the door.
Rite Aid was a tenant for the building. In May, a Bellevue brokerage listed it for rent to tenants eager to be near Columbia Center, Costco Wholesale, Target and other shopping and dining destinations.
A notice in the window advises pharmacy customers that their prescriptions have been transferred to the CVS pharmacy inside the Richland Target store, 2941 Queensgate Drive.
A worker removing merchandise from the closed store expects the Rite Aid on Lee Boulevard in Richland to close on July 8, though the date could not be confirmed.
A third store, on George Washington Way, also in Richland, is also targeted for closure.
24-hour pharmacy
Rite Aid filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for New Jersey on May 5.
The complex bankruptcy included an auction that sold its pharmacy business and some stores to competitors, as well as ongoing work to cancel its store leases and periodic updates on what stores will close.
The Kennewick store off Highway 395 is the region’s lone 24-hour public pharmacy and remained open as of July 3.
Rite Aid previously said it would close or sell all 1,240 stores in 14 states as part of its case.
Won’t stay dark?
The Steptoe store is unlikely to stay empty long. It is one of the region’s more desirable spots for retail because of its south Richland location and the number of vehicles that drive by each day.
Steptoe and Gage was the 24th busiest intersection in the greater Tri-Cities in 2024 with more than 23,000 vehicles passing by each day, according to a survey by the Benton Franklin Council of Governments.
The 17,000-square-foot store is owned by an investment group helmed by Niki Properties II LP, a San Diego-based investor. Marketing materials are posted to crexi.com, a commercial listing service.
The asking rent was not disclosed. The property is represented by Adam Greenberg and Andrew Clarke of Pacific Asset Advisors in Bellevue.
Follow the New Rite Aid LLC bankruptcy case, including court filings, at a site maintained by Kroll.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM.