Rite Aid plans to close its remaining Kitsap County stores as part of its recent 2025 bankruptcy and restructuring plan.

Staff confirmed the future planned closures of Bremerton, Poulsbo and Silverdale locations. The Bainbridge Island location will be converted to a CVS.

The Kingston location closed June 19, per the Rite Aid website. The Port Orchard store closed June 22. An automated message on the store’s phone line confirmed the closure and prescriptions have been transferred to a nearby Fred Meyer pharmacy. The Silverdale location is set to close June 30 with prescriptions being transferred to CVS in Target. The Bremerton and Poulsbo locations are slated to close July 2.

A CVS spokesperson confirmed the chain is planning to operate the Bainbridge Island Rite Aid pending regulatory approval with an estimated closing date this fall. A sign outside the store confirmed it will be converted to a CVS by September 30.

BI Mayor Ashley Mathews shared her concerns with the upcoming store closures in Kitsap County.

“I don’t want to see any gaps or loss in services for residents, and we cannot afford to lose any more medical providers or services to our community, and…with CVS taking over the Rite Aid location, I’m worried about any loss of jobs, and the current employees, who have said that they have been told they have to reapply for their current jobs with CVS,” she said.

“I’m hopeful this is just a swap, that we’re not going to see any gap or change in services, with CVS coming in instead of Rite Aid, and hopefully they are able to retain the employees and fill those shelves back up,” Mathews said.

CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault confirmed Rite Aid employees will be required to reapply for jobs at CVS.

“We’ve established an expedited process to support Rite Aid colleagues through application, hiring, and on-boarding. We also look forward to interviewing Rite Aid employees of locations we are not acquiring who are interested in joining the CVS Pharmacy team,” Thibault said.

In a May 21 letter, The Pharmacy Guild/IAM, which represents pharmacy workers in Washington, sent a letter to CVS and Rite Aid leadership.

“These closures come despite the fact that CVS Health has announced it would acquire dozens of former Bartell’s and Rite Aid locations across the state, without a guarantee to retain existing staff. We are writing to you to ask that you proactively investigate the circumstances of this acquisition to prevent future layoffs. As CVS Health takes over these locations, they should be required to maintain continuity of care for patients and employment for pharmacy professionals and other employees,” the letter states.

As of June 23, the state Employment Security Department hasn’t reported a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) for Rite Aid store closures in Kitsap County or statewide.

“Neither the Employment Security Department nor the U.S. Department of Labor has enforcement authority against employers that fail to comply with requirements of the WARN Act. Rather, it is left to impacted workers to pursue legal remedies through the courts either individually or collectively,” ESD communications manager Adam Rudnick said.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement to Kitsap News Group.

“Pharmacies are often the first place people turn to for health care, whether it’s for cold medicine, to get their annual flu shot, or for advice about prescriptions and over-the-counter medications—and when pharmacies close their doors, rural communities are hit especially hard. What’s important for people to know is that the mega-bill Republicans are pushing through Congress right now will make the largest-ever cut to Medicaid and undermine America’s health care infrastructure across the board, putting even more pharmacies at risk of closure,” she said. “I’ll always support commonsense policies to improve people’s access to care and the medications they need to stay healthy.”