What Now for Bartell Drugs?

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.