Little by little the California doom loop is showing its ugly face. In Berkeley it will become a bit harder to get the medicine you need at a neighborhood pharmacy.
“The Shattuck store is the latest of many Bay Area Walgreens to close in recent years as part of a 2019 plan to close 200 stores nationally. In 2020, the North Berkeley Walgreens at Cedar and Shattuck avenues closed, followed by the Southwest Berkeley store at Ashby and San Pablo avenues in 2021.
In the past two years, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies have also closed in the East Bay, leaving some residents unable to pick up prescriptions in a timely manner.”
This is what it is like to live in a war zone. Expect a quickening of this death spiral.
Walgreens on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley will close next week
The closure of the Walgreens at Shattuck and Allston Way means Berkeley will be down to just three stores.
By Joanne Furio, Berkeleyside, 8/14/23 https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/08/14/shattuck-avenue-walgreens-closing-berkeley?utm_source=Berkeleyside%20newsletters&utm_campaign=4ab060f884-RSS_DAILY_BRIEFING&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_aad4b5ee64-4ab060f884-323112229&goal=0_aad4b5ee64-4ab060f884-323112229&mc_cid=4ab060f884&mc_eid=b83149c3e5
After about 30 years at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, Walgreens will be closing the location’s sliding doors for good on Aug. 23, leaving its pharmacy customers with fewer options in Berkeley. The building is slated for demolition to make way for a 25-story, 326-unit apartment building, Berkeley’s tallest apartment building to date.
Last week, many store shelves were cleared, with 50% off some merchandise. Deeper discounts are planned as the store gets closer to closing. A sign on the front window advised customers that the pharmacy will close at 2 p.m. on the last day.
Walgreens spokesperson Kris Lathan said customers’ pharmacy files “will automatically transfer to the Walgreens at 2310 Telegraph Ave.,” where a pharmacy is being carved out of the existing store. “Patients receive notice about any changes through mail and other means to provide details about continued access to their prescriptions and other services,” she said.
The closing will leave three Walgreens in Berkeley: the Telegraph store, 10 Gilman St and 2801 Adeline St. Only the pharmacy at the Adeline Street store will be open weekends. The Telegraph pharmacy’s hours will be weekdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the Gilman store is open weekdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Adeline store is open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All three locations offer photo services.
The Shattuck store is the latest of many Bay Area Walgreens to close in recent years as part of a 2019 plan to close 200 stores nationally. In 2020, the North Berkeley Walgreens at Cedar and Shattuck avenues closed, followed by the Southwest Berkeley store at Ashby and San Pablo avenues in 2021.
In the past two years, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies have also closed in the East Bay, leaving some residents unable to pick up prescriptions in a timely manner.
The closings are part of an industry-wide shift to rebrand pharmacies as primary health care providers. In February, Walgreens snapped up Medley Health, the parent company of Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, in a $19 million deal that included closing all 22 of Pharmaca’s California stores. Solano Avenue’s Pharmaca closed a week later.
In November 2022, Walgreens-backed VillageMD, a primary care provider, bought Summit Health in a $9 billion deal. According to the website Fierce Healthcare, Walgreens plans to open at least 600 Village Medical locations at Walgreens’ primary-care practices around the country by 2025.
“As we expand as a leader in healthcare, we are focused on best meeting the needs of patients and customers in communities we serve by creating the right network of stores in the right locations,” Lathan wrote in an email.
