CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, Mayor of Baltimore Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other city, state and community officials will join Rite Aid Executive Vice President of Operations Bryan Everett at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand re-opening of the Rite Aid at 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Baltimore. The store has been operating out of a temporary trailer since May after sustaining significant damage during the protests earlier this year. The ribbon-cutting will take place today at 1 p.m.
Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to President Obama Broderick Johnson, Maryland State Senator Catherine Pugh, Baltimore City Council President Jack Young, Baltimore City Councilman Eric Costello, Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby and University of Maryland School of Pharmacy Dean Natalie Eddington will also participate in the grand re-opening ceremony.
“Rite Aid is proud of its longstanding commitment to the Baltimore community, having had a presence in the city for nearly 40 years,” said Everett. “Re-opening and re-building at 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was a priority for our Company, as we know local community residents depend on Rite Aid for both their health and everyday needs. Thanks to the efforts of our many associates, our builders and city, state and federal officials over the past five months, we are here today. We look forward to welcoming back our customers and delivering on our mission of improving the health and wellness of Baltimore.”
In honor of the grand re-opening, The Rite Aid Foundation will present a $10,000 donation to Bettye M. Adams, principal of The Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School. The school, which is located less than a half mile from the Rite Aid at 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, serves nearly 500 students and will use the donation to help fund athletic equipment for physical education classes in support of furthering the physical fitness and wellbeing of the students.
Rite Aid currently operates 30 stores in the city of Baltimore and an additional 70 locations in the surrounding area and employs approximately 800 associates.
The re-built store features the Company’s highly popular Genuine Wellbeing store format, which was designed with Rite Aid’s commitment to providing services, products and resources to help its customers and their families live healthy lives in mind.
Upon entering the store, there is a direct wooden path leading to the pharmacy department, the core of Rite Aid's business. Wellness Stores have pharmacists with special training in diabetes care, medication management and the ability to immunize against about a dozen diseases. The store features a private pharmacist consultation room adjacent to the pharmacy where Rite Aid pharmacists can have conversations with patients, administer immunizations and offer other clinical pharmacy services.
Also available to customers as a resource, a Wellness Ambassador, which serves as a bridge between the front end of the store and the pharmacy. Wellness Ambassadors work closely with Rite Aid pharmacists to provide customers with access to information on over-the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements and Rite Aid programs and services.
Other key design features include overhead departmental rings designating each section of the store such as beauty, food, home care and seasonal; a relaxing, warm color palette with soothing wood tones and softer lighting; a reconfigured check-out area; multiple drive-thru pharmacy lanes; hundreds of new health and wellness products including organic and gluten-free foods; expanded vitamin selection; a free-standing nail bar as part of the expanded cosmetics and beauty section; and an expanded food department including the addition of food and beverage coolers.
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) is one of the nation's leading drugstore chains with nearly 4,600 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2015 annual revenues of $26.5 billion. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company's website at www.riteaid.com.
