BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

MASSENA — The village of Massena will soon have just two pharmacies following the announcement that Rite Aid is slated to close on Sept. 20.

The announcement came via a company email that stated the store will close at the close of business on Sept. 20.

In the email, officials said that customers can pick up prescriptions at the Walgreens Pharmacy, located at 303 Main Street.

Kinney Drugs is also located across the street from Walgreens at 300 Main Street.

The decision to close the Rite Aid location did not come lightly, as company officials stated that, like all retail businesses, locations are reviewed periodically.

After consideration, company officials say the decision to close was “based on a variety of factors, including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability and store performance.”

Company officials also say other factors are weighed in these decisions, including neighborhood reviews to ensure “customers will have access to health services, be it at Rite Aid or a nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services. We also strive to transfer associates to other Rite Aid locations where possible.”

Village officials say they plan to work with the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency in a combined effort to fill the space quickly.

This is the second time a pharmacy has closed in the North Country this year, following the closure of Canton’s Walgreens Pharmacy on March 6.

That location, which was formerly a Rite Aid store, opened at the East Main Street location in 2018 following a move from the Jubilee supermarket plaza.

The former East Main Street Walgreens will soon reopen as an Ace Hardware store.