MANCHESTER, N.H. – An old standby in a new form, a new Rite Aid can now be found on McGregor Street, following its grand reopening earlier this month.
The new Rite Aid is one of four in the city and the only one on the West Side, although there is another Rite Aid in Bedford just a few hundred feet from the Manchester border.
While the new Rite Aid is approximate 1,000 sq. ft larger than the old one which was razed, it also has a new layout and more emphasis on grocery items, particularly sugar-free and gluten-free items.
West Side resident Charles Dubecky was a regular at the old Rite Aid and its predecessors for decades and he thinks the new format will be useful for nearby residents that need groceries but have difficulty obtaining transportation to nearby grocery stores and it fits well architecturally with nearby buildings such as the adjacent St. Mary’s Bank location.
“For years I kept on hearing it was going to happen, but it never happened. Then they finally went through with it,” he said. “It’s actually good for the community too, it fits in well with everything going on around here.”
The new Rite Aid is also just steps away from Catholic Medical Center’s main campus.
“We are so excited to have the new Rite-Aid open,” said Catholic Medical Center Spokesperson Lauren Collins-Cline. “It’s a huge asset for the neighborhood, it’s a huge asset for CMC patients and employees and it’s been really great to work with Rite-Aid while we saw this building being built and it’s great to see the continued development on this corner of the West Side.”