Lancaster County's Rite Aids of future never

Welcome back to Retail Forever, and wow, it’s been a while since I posted something (sorry…) Today, we’re going to take a look at the two proposed Rite Aid stores in Lancaster County which never came to fruition.

Store 1: Rite Aid #36XX

The first store we’ll be taking a look at today is located in southeastern Lancaster city.

The store, located at 1003 East King Street, was built to become part of the rapidly expanding Drug Fair chain. At the time, Drug Fair already operated a store on Columbia Avenue in Columbia and was preparing to open another in the Stone Mill Plaza. Building started in 1986 and was completed by early 1987.

But before Drug Fair could open, the chain was purchased by Rite Aid in 1987. Rite Aid announced that it would open a new store on the King Street property.

Lancaster New Era via Newspapers.com - May 4, 1987

However, they never did. The property continued to sit vacant.

In 1989, a Blockbuster Video store was proposed for the site, but was shot down by township zoners due to traffic concerns. After that, the building continued to be vacant until 1993, when it was announced that a furniture store would be opening on the property despite opposition from residents.

Grand opening ad for A&A Furniture Liquidators - Lancaster New Era via Newspapers.com

The store, called A&A Furniture Liquidators, held its grand opening on April 24, 1993. It enjoyed moderate success until its closure sometime between March 1996 and January 1998.

A&A Furniture Liquidators - Lancaster County Property Assessor

This time, however, the property didn’t sit vacant for long. In January 1998, it was announced that an Advance Auto Parts store had been approved for the property. The store held its grand opening in late April 1998.

Grand opening ad for the King Street Advance Auto Parts - Lancaster New Era via Newspapers.com

After Advance’s opening, it seemed that the property had finally found a lasting tenant and that its struggles would be over. But, on January 26, 1999, it was confirmed that the store would be closing by the end of January because it was too close to the newly acquired location at 2038 Lincoln Highway East.

Lancaster New Era via Newspapers.com - January 26, 1999

But for some odd reason, that never happened. It remained open and has remained that way to this day.

 

Store #2

The second store we’ll be looking at today has a much more condensed history. In June 2008, it was announced that Rite Aid was eyeing a property in northern Lititz at 385 North Broad Street.

Lancaster New Era via Newspapers.com - June 11, 2008

Rite Aid #3425 in Hamburg, with the design Lititz’ Rite Aid likely would’ve followed

Long story short, it never happened. CVS #2297 was built at the site in 2010.

CVS #2297, which opened in May 2011

 

That's all for this time, see you in the next one

-RF