Seattle Culture
What Now for Bartell Drugs?
Parent company Rite Aid again files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
By Rob Smith May 5, 2025
The future of Bartell Drugs just got murkier.
Parent company Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, just eight months after it exited Chapter 11.
The company says customers “can continue to access pharmacy services and products in stores and online,” though customers and health care providers have complained of poor service and inventory shortages throughout stores since the Rite Aid acquisition.
Rite Aid officials said they are actively seeking buyers for the company, and have “multiple interested potential acquirors.” They also said, however, that they may have to liquidate all assets if no buyer emerges.
Rite Aid purchased Bartell’s for $95 million almost five years ago. Bartell’s was launched in Seattle in 1890 and at one time had about 130 stores throughout the region. Rite Aid has since closed about two dozen locations.
Bartell’s was thought to be the nation’s oldest family-operated drugstore chain before its 2020 sale.
Follow Us
Think You Know Seattle?
Greater Seattle Partners releases a treasure trove of fascinating information
You already know that Amazon, Boeing and Microsoft are the region’s top employers. You may be aware that China is our top trade partner. But did you know that almost one-quarter of King County residents are foreign born? Or that more than one in five employees in the county work remotely? Did you know that…
Fresh from Switzerland
A world-renowned chocolatier lands in Tukwila and Bellevue this summer
There’s a new reason to detour through the mall: expertly made Swiss chocolate. Swiss brand Läderach is set to open its first Washington store in early July at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila. A second location will follow at Bellevue Square in August. Läderach is best known for FrischSchoggi — slabs of chocolate embedded with nuts,…
The Fight for Affordable Housing
Advocates are stepping up efforts and eyeing new approaches
Doug Cox’s journey from inmate to entrepreneur was, to say the least, littered with challenges. Cox, a resident of Aspen Terrace — an affordable housing complex in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood — is in advanced patent discussions for an interactive toy he invented that mimics the sounds of dinosaurs, military devices, superheroes, and more. The…
Space Needle Unveils Spaceship-Style Elevators
The double-deck, floor-to-ceiling elevators are the first in the world
Riding to the top of the Space Needle just got a lot more fun. The Space Needle last Friday opened the world’s only double-deck, floor-to-ceiling glass elevator. Two similar elevators are slated to open in 2028. The privately funded $100 million modernization project broke ground in 2023. The Space Needle is the only tower in…