At the beginning of February, the Rite Aid located on the southeast corner of E. 105th St. and St. Clair Ave. in the Glenville neighborhood closed with little notice to residents or community leaders. Before closing, Rite Aid sent prescriptions over to Walgreens, including the two closest at 3020 Mayfield Road and 14501 Euclid Ave., a distance of several miles away each. The owners of locally-owned MAC Pharmacy, one block away at 10414 St. Clair, say they are ready to step in to provide services to the community.
Ward 9 Cleveland City Council member Kevin Conwell said he first heard about Rite Aid closing from residents. Conwell was able to speak with the store manager who confirmed the store was closing due to shrinkage of inventory (theft), the expiration of their commercial lease, and competition from online pharmacies that deliver prescriptions. Conwell then prepared a flier which listed nearby pharmacies where residents could get their prescriptions filled and walked the neighborhood distributing it.
“I called and left messages for the owner to contact me, but my calls were not returned,” Conwell told The Land. “They said they had a community meeting, but no one in the neighborhood knew or heard about it.”
George Tadross and Sherif Mankaryous, owners of the Glenville-based MAC Pharmacy, learned that Rite Aid was closing from an employee of the store. “The first thing we thought was, even with the Rite Aid, the community needed another pharmacy,” Tadross and Mankaryous told The Land.
The owners say that MAC Pharmacy is a community pharmacy that makes sure patients understand the medications they are taking and that they are taking them as prescribed. MAC provides free shipping, free delivery, and free consultation. MAC also provides free “bubble packaging” which groups and color-codes medications by morning, afternoon, and evening, making it easier for people to know whether they have taken all their medication for the day.
According to its website, MAC Pharmacy was founded in Akron by pharmacist Sherif Makaryous, who worked for five years at Akron City Hospital (now Summa Health System). Mankaryous felt the area was in need of more independent pharmacies. MAC Pharmacy now has two locations in Akron as well as the Glenville location.
According to Conwell, Rite Aid did not move employees to another store and does not plan to reopen at another location. Conwell believes that Rite Aid’s closing is going to be a trend due to fewer people going to school to work in the industry because of the long hours and low pay. CVS closed down 300 stores in 2021 and is on track to close 900 stores by the end of 2024, and Rite Aid has closed more than 150 stores since late 2021, according to news reports.
“The average wage for the Glenville Rite Aid workers was under $15 an hour,” Conwell said. “But this is happening across the nation.”
The Rite Aid closure is the latest example of retail consolidation in the city of Cleveland. Last year, Dave’s Market announced that it was closing its Collinwood store. Simon’s Supermarket purchased the building from Montlack Realty, but nine months later, it’s still empty, and Simon’s plans for the property remain unclear.
The Land reached out to Rite Aid for comment, but our phone calls were not returned. Currently, MAC Pharmacy is seeking to take over part of the Rite Aid space, but negotiations with the landlord are ongoing. For now, the Rite Aid location remains shuttered, and a sign on the door directs customers to Walgreens at 14501 Euclid Ave. in East Cleveland and 3020 Mayfield Rd. in Cleveland Heights.
The Cleveland location of MAC Pharmacy is 10414 St. Clair Ave., and its phone number is 216-800-0223.
Have you noticed closing stores – “retail consolidation” – in your neighborhood? Let The Land know.
Christina Easter was a participant in The Land’s community journalism program.
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