Neighbors say closure of Walgreens in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood will disrupt many lives
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Walgreens has revealed its five Chicago drugstores that will close next month—and one of those pending closures will be a blow to the Bronzeville community.
The following Walgreens stores will close between Monday, Feb. 17, and Thursday, Feb. 27:
- 7111 S. Western Ave., Chicago Lawn.
- 4005 W. 26th St., Little Village
- 9148 S. Commercial Ave., South Chicago
- 3405 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Bronzeville
- 7109 S. Jeffery Blvd., South Shore
At the Bronzeville Walgreens location on King Drive off 35th Street in the Lake Meadows Shopping Plaza, there is a constant flow of people coming and going.
"Very busy, very busy," said Edith Smith. "The line was just long for the medicine I had to get for myself."
The Walgreens in question has operated for more than three decades.
"They remodeled it," Smith said, "and what's going on shouldn't be going on."
A sign in the front window of the King Drive Walgreens tells of what is going on. It is closing for good on Wednesday, Feb. 26, leaving a void in the community.
"To say it's part of the livelihood of this entire street, well, it's the truth," said Beuford Farquar. "It's horrible it's going to go."
Back in the fall of 2024, Walgreens—which is based in north suburban Deerfield—warned it was going to close 1,200 stores across the country. This week, it revealed the five aforementioned Chicago closures that are part of the first round.
"It means a great deal, because so many people don't have transportation," Farquar said. "The pharmacy alone is something that's a necessity."
When the Bronzeville location closes, the nearest Walgreens will be at 47th Street and Lake Park Avenue in Kenwood.
While the 47th Street location is just under three miles away from the one on King Drive in Bronzeville, it makes for a real hike without transportation. It would be a 46-minute walk, or a ride of anywhere from 25 to 32 minutes each way for those who rely on the Chicago Transit Authority to get around.
"Me and an older lady were just in their talking now, and it hurt her heart so bad because, she said doesn't know what to do, because it's convenient for her because she's right here," said Smith.
Walgreens said in a statement:
"Our retail pharmacy business is central to our go-forward business strategy. However, increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on our ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs. It is never an easy decision to close a store. We know that our stores are important to the communities that we serve, and therefore do everything possible to improve the store performance. When closures are necessary, like those here in Chicago, we will work in partnership with community stakeholders to minimize customer disruptions. We intend to redeploy the majority of our team members from those stores that we close."
"So many stores are being taken out of our neighborhoods, and I feel it's not fair to us," Smith said.