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After closing hundreds of locations in recent years, a pharmacy giant is continuing to shrink its retail footprint, with more stores disappearing from communities across the U.S.The latest closures come as the chain works to reshape its business and focus on locations it believes have a stronger long-term future. For customers, however, the changes raise the bigger question of what happens when a neighborhood pharmacy is no longer there.The company is not alone in pulling back from brick-and-mortar retail. Major drugstores, including CVS, have closed locations in recent years, while Rite Aid no longer exists as a physical retail chain following its bankruptcy and widespread store closures. Founded in 1901, Walgreens is the second-largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., with more than 8,500 stores nationwide.Walgreens 2026 store closuresWalgreens has shuttered at least 18 stores across 11 states and Washington, D.C., in 2026, with additional closures planned, according to USearch.The Walgreens locations that have closed in 2026 include:San Francisco, California: 1301 Market StFort Myers, Florida: 12041 Palm Beach BlvdChicago, Illinois: 3046 N Halsted StChicago, Illinois: 2351 E 71st St Suite AChicago, Illinois: 8628 S Cottage Grove AveRockford, Illinois: 5503 E State StDeerfield, Illinois: 108 Wilmot RdBridgeton, Missouri: 11404 St Charles Rock RdSt. Louis, Missouri: 2202 Chambers RdBrooklyn, New York: 120 Court StDumont, New Jersey: 406 Madison AveBogota, New Jersey: 33 River RdBeaufort, South Carolina: 1294 Ribaut RdHouston, Texas: 1805 Greens RdArlington, Virginia: 1301 S Joyce St Ste. D3Seattle, Washington: 2400 S Jackson StWashington, D.C.: 1815 Connecticut Ave NWMilwaukee, Wisconsin: 2727 W North AveWalgreens expects to close about 100 stores nationwide in 2026. The 18 locations already closed represent only part of a much larger multi-year restructuring strategy Walgreens began outlining in 2024.Why Walgreens is closing locations nationwideIn Oct. 2024, Walgreens announced plans to close approximately 1,200 underperforming stores over three years as the company worked to reverse declining sales and improve its financial performance.The strategy came as the pharmacy industry faced several challenges, including changing consumer shopping habits, pressure on prescription drug reimbursement, rising operating costs, and increased competition from online pharmacies and other healthcare providers.During Walgreens’ fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings call, then-CFO Manmohan Mahajan said the company was prioritizing stores that were losing money, underperforming locations where Walgreens owned the property, and stores with leases approaching expiration.Related: Aldi closes more stores, and yours could be next”We are prioritizing closing locations that are cash flow negative, underperforming stores where we own the locations and ones where the lease expirations are coming due in the next few years,” said Mahajan.He added that the closures were expected to help Walgreens redirect investment toward stronger-performing stores and improve the customer experience in those locations.Walgreens was acquired by Sycamore Partners in Aug. 2025 in a take-private transaction valued at approximately $10 billion in equity. Including debt and potential future payments tied to healthcare asset sales, the total transaction value could reach $23.7 billion.That change in ownership comes as Walgreens continues to determine which parts of its traditional retail model are worth maintaining and which locations no longer make financial sense.

Walgreens closes more stores in 2026.Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

What this means for Walgreens and customersWalgreens has said it will continue to evaluate its store footprint as it seeks to improve profitability and adapt to changes in the pharmacy business.One area of focus is smaller-format stores that place greater emphasis on prescriptions and personalized care. At the same time, locations that generate weaker returns or no longer align with the company’s long-term strategy are being considered for closure.The restructuring has also extended beyond Walgreens’ retail stores.The company recently shuttered a roughly 500,000-square-foot distribution center in Houston, resulting in 159 layoffs. The move highlights how Walgreens’ broader cost-cutting strategy extends into its supply and distribution network.For customers affected by the store closures, Walgreens has created a Walgreens Store Closing Information section on its website. The resource includes information about prescription transfers, delivery options, and alternative locations.For Walgreens, closing underperforming stores is a strategy for improving its financial position. For communities losing those locations, however, the consequences can extend far beyond retail.A pharmacy can serve as more than a place to pick up prescriptions. For many consumers, particularly older adults and people managing chronic conditions, a nearby location can provide convenient access to medications and other healthcare services.That makes the continued reduction in pharmacy locations part of a broader public-health concern.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of the U.S. population reported taking at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days, with prescription use particularly common among older adults and people with chronic health conditions.Research published through the National Library of Medicine estimates that nearly 16 million Americans, or about 4.7% of the population, live in areas considered “pharmacy deserts,” where convenient access to a pharmacy is limited.That makes the continued wave of drugstore closures significant beyond the retail industry. As Walgreens and other pharmacy operators reassess their store networks, some communities could find themselves with fewer nearby options for filling prescriptions and accessing pharmacy services.Here’s some of my previous coverage on the pharmacy business:CVS warns it may have to close over 100 more storesAmazon tries to solve huge problem for 10s of millions of AmericansWalmart tries to bring health and wellness to more Americans”Community pharmacies have been staples of neighborhoods for more than a century. Unfortunately, current trends in pharmacy closures pose real threats to public health,” pharmacy researchers Lucas A. Berenbrok, E. Michael Murphy, and Sophia Herbert wrote in The Conversation.They argue that policymakers should address the systemic issues contributing to pharmacy closures to help preserve access to medications, healthcare, and pharmacists.Related: Grocery chain pays $40 million fine in pricing scandal deal

While concern continues to rise about the cost of groceries, another major issue is quietly cropping up in your neighborhood: local grocery stores closing. During its June 2025 earnings call, Kroger announced that it would shutter 60 locations over the next 18 months, citing underperformance. The closures also affect other brands under the company umbrella, including Fred Meyer, Fry’s Food and Drug, Harris Teeter, Foods Co, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Mariano’s, Pick ‘n Save, and QFC.Many consumers struggling with higher food costs have turned to discount grocery stores for relief, but those are also winking out of sight in some areas. Aldi is another chain closing stores in 2026, with locations shuttering in Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, and Wisconsin. While the chain has plans to expand up to 3,200 locations by 2028, it needs to cut underperforming stores to reach that goal.Grocery Outlet also falls into the discount category — and it’s also closing stores. The chain announced in March 2026 that it would shutter 36 locations. CEO Jason Potter said that the chain stretched itself too thin with a rapid expansion plan. 24 locations included in the closure are on the east coast, translating into less discount grocery options for many consumers in need of them.Now, another grocery has announced new closures, some affecting locations that have been open for decades.Safeway shutters more storesSafeway’s most recent closure was Newport, Oregon, at 2220 N Coast Hwy, a location that served locals for 30 years. The store closed its doors in July. This closure follows the Hechinger Mall location in Washington, D.C., which was open for 40 years and shuttered on May 16. Before that, the Hayward Safeway on Jackson St. in California’s Bay Area closed in February 2026.“Like all retailers, we are constantly evaluating our store footprint and have to look at every angle of the business. This includes our real estate portfolio. We are coming to the end of our lease at this location, and have made the decision to reinvest our resources into other existing stores,” Safeway said in a statement in response to the Washington store closure.Related: Grocery giant rethinks supply chain plans as store closures mountThe closures are part of a strategic shift for Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons. 30 Albertsons locations closed in 2025, and another 12 are on the chopping block for 2026 so far.“We’re continually looking at our store base and making decisions on whether to keep the stores or can we turn them around, can we change the profitability or making the difficult decisions from time to time to exit those stores. And we’ve not seen a dramatic shift or increase in store profitability at this time. Again, it’s a pretty small number of our fleet,” CEO Susan Morris said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.More Retail:Coca-Cola quietly hints at reinventing previously failed flavorBath & Body Works quietly gains a competitive advantageDollar General brings back old pricesKroger attempted to buy Albertsons for $24.6 billion in October 2022, but the merger was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission in February 2024. Albertsons responded by suing Kroger, saying it didn’t do enough to secure regulatory approval, and Kroger countersued. The lawsuits are currently ongoing.How local grocery closures impact the consumerFor these companies, closing underperforming locations helps them stay on budget and make key moves in other areas. But for the consumers who have relied on the stores for decades, it creates a much larger problem.Each closure removes a full-service grocery option from that neighborhood, which matters most in areas without many alternatives nearby. Both the Washington, D.C. and the Oregon Safeway had operated for decades — long enough that residents built shopping habits, transportation routines, and in some cases, food-access dependence around them.Safeway store closures in 2026 (so far)231 W Jackson Street, Hayward, CA1601 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, D.C.2220 N Coast Highway, Newport, ORThis is also the fourth Bay Area Safeway to close in just over a year, following earlier shutdowns in San Francisco’s Fillmore district, Pinole, and Vallejo. When multiple stores in the same metro area close in succession, remaining stores absorb more shopper traffic (longer lines, thinner stock) and some pockets of the region end up genuinely underserved.While these closures may make life harder for many residents who relied on these stores, there is one bright spot in the story. All 76 employees at the Hayward store were transferred to nearby locations rather than laid off, consistent with the union’s collective bargaining agreement, and this pattern has held across most of Safeway’s other closures. Albertsons itself said it works “to place as many associates as possible in other stores.” So while shoppers will need to find a new local grocery, at least Safeway’s workers are being taken care of — something that feels rare in corporate America these days.Related: 87-year-old grocery giant closing more stores