The Walgreens-owned Rite Aid store in Barrington is closing.

Walgreens representative Alex Brown confirmed earlier this week that the last day of operation for the store's pharmacy will be Monday, Feb. 17. 

In a statement, Ms. Brown wrote that Walgreens is notifying patients and customers of the change.

"The store will remain open for about two weeks after the pharmacy closes to allow for the final sale of all products," Ms. Brown wrote in the statement.

Once Rite Aid's pharmacy closes, patients' prescription records will be available at the CVS in the Barrington Shopping Center.

According to Ms. Brown's statement, Walgreens is hoping to relocate people working at the County Road store to other Walgreens locations.

"We are committed to taking care of our team members throughout this process, and expect to have positions at other locations for the majority of store employees who are impacted. We will be making every effort to find the same or similar positions for team members."

Word of the store's upcoming closure began to spread in mid-January. Some people questioned why the store was closing its doors. One resident wrote a letter to the editor challenging whether the new Walgreens sign was a factor in the store's closing. 

"I have heard that it is because of lighted signage that Walgreens wants to put up outside the store which seems to be a problem with local official policy," Barbara Flanders wrote in her letter.

Barrington officials disputed that theory. 

In fact, the store received approval from the town in Nov. 2019 to install a new Walgreens sign on the County Road building. The sign was to feature "halo" illumination, where lights are placed behind the sign, producing a glowing effect on the sign.

According to Ms. Brown's statement, the decision to close the store was tied to Walgreens' purchase of Rite-Aid stores. 

"Walgreens completed the purchase of 1,932 Rite Aid stores. As announced during our October 2017 earnings, we are in the process of closing some store locations to help ensure we have the right stores in the right locations to create a more focused network of stores that can deliver the greatest value for our customers," stated the release. "While we will be closing some stores, we will also be investing in the community through the process of converting other Walgreens-owned Rite Aid stores to the Walgreens brand. We also began converting other Walgreens-owned Rite Aid stores to the Walgreens brand. This process began in June 2018 and will continue in phases over the next year."

The Rite Aid located on Willett Avenue in Riverside was converted to a Walgreens recently. There is also a Walgreens store in Bristol.

As to the future of the County Road property, Walgreens officials would not comment.