For decades, Detroit has worked to attract corporate chains like Meijer and Whole Foods. Finally, both these brands entered the market in 2013. But long before these “big-box” stores came in, Detroit — and Highland Park and Hamtramck for that matter — included a swath of medium-box brands, in the form of drugstores.
Back in 2017, there were 40 Rite Aid, CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens stores in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck. Now, almost a third of them are gone, with just 28 stores left throughout those cities.
For some Detroit residents, getting to their local pharmacy quickly has not only been convenient, it’s been necessary.
Ms. Moore, who asked that Outlier Media not use her first name because debt collectors have been harassing her, doesn’t have a working car but used to be able to walk to a Rite Aid from her house on Oakman Boulevard.
“You can go to Rite Aid and purchase your medical supplies, incontinent briefs, all kinds of medical things,” said Moore, 80.
She has a heart condition and would often drop in at the Rite Aid to check her blood pressure. But a few months back, it closed.