Walgreen's To Shutter Palo Alto's University Ave. Store In June

PALO ALTO, CA – Walgreen’s will shutter its store in downtown Palo Alto in June as part of a company-wide effort to cut costs, a company spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday. The store, which is located at 300 University Ave., reopened since 2010 following an arson three years earlier that forced the building to be demolished.

The store’s final day of business will be June 9, Walgreen’s spokeswoman Alexandra Brown, who said that prescription files from the store would be automatically transferred to the store location at 2605 Middlefield Road in the Midtown neighborhood. Brown characterized the decision to close the store as being "not easy".

The company plans to transfer most of the employees from the downtown location to other stores and Brown said that customers would receive a letter regarding their prescription information. Brown said that the decision to close the store was made before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Please be assured that the community will be remain well served by Walgreen’s,” Brown said in a statement. "We will continue to be the strong community partner Palo Alto has known us to be."

Walgreen’s announced a plan to cut costs last year and is closing 200 stores nationwide as the company looks to "accelerate the ongoing transformation of our business, enable investments in key areas and to become a more efficient enterprise."