Drugstore-closure fallout continues in Pierce County with this Bartell to close
What was the only Pierce County Bartell Drugs location to not appear on any official closure list is now among the drugstores set to shut down amid the Rite Aid bankruptcy.
The Bartell store, 5500 Olympic Drive in Gig Harbor’s Olympic Village Shopping Center, is among those set to close in the coming months, joining Tacoma locations earlier announced.
Bartell is a subsidiary of the Rite Aid chain.
Prescriptions at the drugstore will be transferred to the current Rite Aid at 4818 Point Fosdick Dr. That site is set to become a CVS Pharmacy. Given that remaining stores in the chain are set to convert to CVS, it was unclear which site would be retained, as they are only a few blocks from each other.
Amy Thibault, a media representative for CVS, told The News Tribune via email that Rite Aid is “planning to acquire and operate the Rite Aid at 4818 Point Fosdick Drive NW in Gig Harbor.”
According to the plans, the Rite Aid will close Aug. 11 and reopen as CVS Pharmacy the next day.
“We’re also planning to acquire the prescription files of the 5500 Olympic Drive Bartell Drugs store in Gig Harbor. The Bartell Drugs pharmacy will close on Sept. 1 and the files will be transferred to the Point Fosdick Drive NW store, which will be a CVS Pharmacy at that time,” she wrote.
She added, “Patients don’t have to do anything; the prescription file transfer to CVS Pharmacy will be seamless as well.”
The News Tribune has previously reported on the growing list of closures, with the most recent involving three Puyallup stores, with the fourth set to convert to CVS.
Bartell Drugs, founded in 1890 in Seattle, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rite Aid in late 2020, with stores in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
Rite Aid filed for its second round of bankruptcy in two years in May of this year. CVS is set to take over remaining Rite Aid/Bartell locations in Washington, Idaho and Oregon along with acquiring prescriptions from about 625 Rite Aid locations across 15 states.
As Bartell plans its exit from the shopping center, another brand is making its way to the site. The News Tribune reported in June that Bath & Body Works will open its first Gig Harbor location at the center this fall.
Wok on Fire Asian BBQ recently reopened as a Thai restaurant under new ownership at the center.
Other tenants include Ulta Beauty, Ross Dress For Less and Cutters Point Coffee’s flagship store. Recent lease marketing for the center noted that it was a “high-volume drugstore anchored center.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
