Duane Reade Going Out of Business?
A Duane Reade in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood is going out of business, its closure is one of a string of drug store closures in NY and nationwide.
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Residents of New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood are losing yet another convenient pharmacy location. According to a recent article on W42ST.com, the Duane Reed drug store located at the corner of 8th Avenue and W47th Street will close its doors on November 17, 2022. The end of this Duane Reade location is yet another drug store chain closure indicating that brick-and-mortar drug stores are becoming less relevant in today’s society.
Hell’s Kitchen is an edgy, far west NYC neighborhood named for the infamous 19th century motorcycle gang. It’s now considered an up-and-coming area with local businesses flourishing on every street. But Duane Reade and other west-side drug stores have struggled with rising commercial rent costs and a rise in shoplifting that’s resulted in many products—including chocolate—being kept under lock and key.
The 8th Avenue and W47th Street Duane Reade has already closed its second floor and many of the remaining shelves are empty. A window on the 8th Avenue side is boarded up, a depressing indicator of the impending closure of what used to be a 24-hour pharmacy. A Citibank ATM is already out of service, and signs are plastered around the location to make sure regular customers know their drugstore is shutting down.
Duane Reade was named for the first store’s location, a warehouse situated between Duane Street and Reade Street on Broadway in Lower Manhattan. It opened in 1960 and soon became the most recognized retail pharmacy in metropolitan New York. In 2010, drug store giant Walgreens purchased the Duane Reade franchise.
Duane Reade/Walgreens, CVS, and other large pharmacy chains are being closed around the nation and in multiple New York City locations. These urban closures often create a pharmacy desert where lower-income residents without vehicles cannot find a local pharmacy within a half-mile radius. Although retailers are constantly closing or opening stores based on current market demands, the latest chain casualties are being linked to a number of factors.
Customer service at Duane Reade and other drug stores has declined as pharmacists, technicians and other staff are resigning in larger numbers due to unrealistic daily workloads. Understaffing leads to frustrated customers forced to wait in ever-lengthening lines. A poor shopping experience is one reason that consumers are increasingly turning to online shopping—even those who may prefer to support local businesses.
Steve Kaufman, a Hell’s Hero award recipient, is a pharmacist who has been serving the Hell’s Kitchen community for over 40 years. “The chains are losing so many pharmacists,” he said. “Those new metrics are putting them under — they’re asking pharmacists to fill 100, 200 prescriptions a day and then telling them, ‘Oh we scheduled you a hundred shots,’ without telling them how to do this. The pharmacists are getting burnt out and they’re terrified of making a mistake and hurting someone.”
Kaufman said that the Duane Reade closure would actually help the area’s independent pharmacy community. Drug stores such as Arrow, Bowen, Esco and Thriftway are filling more prescriptions and taking on a more active role in community events and healthcare education initiatives. “The independent pharmacies…they’ve all really picked up the slack,” said Kaufman.
Residents of Hell’s Kitchen can take advantage of going-out-of-business markdowns on remaining stock. Pharmacy customers with prescriptions at this location can easily transfer them to another Duane Reade or Walgreens pharmacy. With just a little more effort, current customers can transfer their prescription refills to a smaller, independent Hell’s Kitchen pharmacy instead.
