If you’ve driven down Brace Road lately, you’ve probably noticed the change. The Rite Aid at 823 Brace Road in Cherry Hill was more than just a place to grab a prescription or a last-minute birthday card. It was a local fixture. Honestly, for people living in the surrounding neighborhoods, it was the go-to spot for avoiding the madness of the bigger grocery stores. But the doors are locked now. It's gone.
The Rite Aid Brace Road Cherry Hill location officially shuttered its doors as part of the massive Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that has been rocking the retail pharmacy world since late 2023. It wasn't just this store, obviously. Thousands of people across New Jersey have had to scramble to figure out where their medical records went and which pharmacist they can actually trust now. It sucks.
The Messy Reality of the Rite Aid Bankruptcy
Rite Aid didn’t just wake up one day and decide to leave Cherry Hill. The company was drowning. They faced billions in debt and a mountain of lawsuits related to opioid prescriptions. When a giant like that starts to sink, the first things they cut are the "underperforming" leases. Brace Road was one of the casualties in the 2024 wave of closures.
Business is brutal.
When the Brace Road location closed, it wasn't a solo act. It joined the ranks of the Haddonfield Road store and several others in South Jersey that vanished almost overnight. If you were a regular there, you probably got a generic letter in the mail telling you your prescriptions were being transferred to a nearby Walgreens or a different Rite Aid that hadn't been axed yet. But letters get lost. People show up to a dark building with "Store Closed" signs taped to the glass and feel totally abandoned.
Where Did Your Prescriptions Actually Go?
This is the part that stresses everyone out. Most of the files from the Rite Aid Brace Road Cherry Hill site were migrated to the Walgreens located at 1827 West Marlton Pike. That’s the big one near the intersection with Kings Highway.
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It’s not a perfect swap.
Walgreens and Rite Aid have different systems. Your insurance might have been seamless at one and a total headache at the other. Plus, the staff at the new location suddenly had to absorb thousands of new patients. That leads to long lines and short tempers. If you haven't checked on your refills lately, you really need to call the West Marlton Pike Walgreens or your specific insurance provider to verify that your profile transferred correctly without any hiccups in your prior authorizations.
Other Local Alternatives
You don't have to go to Walgreens. Cherry Hill is actually a pharmacy stronghold if you know where to look. You’ve got options:
- The CVS on Route 70: It’s always busy, but they have a robust app that actually works.
- Heritage Pharmacy: If you hate the big-box vibe, this is an independent option in the area. Local pharmacies often provide more personalized care than the corporate giants.
- ShopRite Pharmacy: If you're already doing your grocery shopping at the Garden State Pavilion, it’s just easier to consolidate.
The Ghost of Brace Road: What Happens to the Building?
Empty retail space is the bane of suburbia. The 823 Brace Road building is a prime piece of real estate, but it’s currently sitting in that awkward limbo. In New Jersey, these former pharmacies are often tough to fill because they are designed for a specific flow—drive-thrus, specific loading docks, and high-security pharmacy counters.
Lately, we’ve seen a trend in South Jersey where these old Rite Aids become urgent care centers or medical offices. Think along the lines of a Virtua or an Inspira satellite office. It makes sense. The plumbing is already there for medical use, and the parking is usually decent.
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However, there is also a chance it could sit vacant for a while. Zoning in Cherry Hill can be a bit of a bureaucratic maze. If a developer wants to turn it into something like a fast-food joint with a high-traffic drive-thru, they have to jump through a dozen hoops with the planning board. For now, it’s just a reminder of a shifting retail landscape where convenience is being replaced by consolidation.
Why the "Pharmacy Desert" Concern is Real
You might think, "Big deal, there's another pharmacy a mile away." But for the elderly residents near Brace Road who don't drive or who relied on that specific walking route, this is a massive blow. When a neighborhood pharmacy closes, it creates what experts call a "pharmacy desert."
It’s not just about the pills. It’s about the consultation. It’s about being able to ask a pharmacist if a cough syrup will interact with your blood pressure meds without waiting in a 30-minute line. The loss of the Rite Aid Brace Road Cherry Hill location means more people are funneling into fewer stores, decreasing the quality of care for everyone.
Actionable Steps for Former Brace Road Customers
Don't just wait until you run out of medicine to deal with this. The transition period is over, and the "grace period" for records transfer is shrinking.
Verify your records. Call the Walgreens on West Marlton Pike. Ask them if they have your active prescriptions and, more importantly, your insurance "bin" numbers on file. Sometimes the data transfers, but the insurance info gets corrupted.
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Update your doctors. Your primary care physician likely still has the Brace Road Rite Aid listed as your "preferred pharmacy" in their electronic health record (EHR) system. The next time they send a script, it’ll go to a dead fax machine or a bounced email. Tell them to update it to your new location immediately.
Consider Mail Order. If you’re tired of the "will they or won't they" game with retail pharmacy closures, it might be time to switch to a service like Express Scripts or Amazon Pharmacy. It takes the local real estate drama out of the equation entirely.
Support Independent. If you're frustrated with how Rite Aid handled this—basically leaving the community in the lurch—look for an independent pharmacy. They are fewer and farther between in Cherry Hill than they used to be, but they often offer free delivery and a human being who actually knows your name.
The closure of the Rite Aid on Brace Road is a symptom of a much larger corporate collapse, but for the people living in Cherry Hill, it’s a personal inconvenience that requires a bit of proactive management to ensure your health doesn't take a backseat to a bankruptcy filing.
Check your pill bottles today. If the label still says Brace Road, you have work to do.