For many years, Luz Onofre loved going to the Columbia Heights CVS to buy the products she needed and to get her medication.
Onofre noticed that within the past two years, young people would come into the store and “do things they shouldn’t” but nevertheless she continued to be a consistent, loyal customer. When she found out last month that the store would be closing in a few weeks, she was sad.
“I am very, very concerned,” said Onofre, who lives in a senior facility steps away from the store, on Jan. 28. “Don’t close this store. This is where I shop. I go to the pharmacy here.”
In addition to the CVS Columbia Heights store, company officials revealed on Jan. 26 that three CVS operations located in Target stores in the District will close in the near future.
The Closings
The company made it official about the Columbia Heights CVS’s closure on Jan. 23.
“We’ve made the difficult decision to close our store at 3031 14th Street NW in Columbia Heights on Feb. 29,” a news release said. “All prescriptions will be transferred to the nearby CVS Pharmacy at 1755 Columbia Road NW to ensure patients have uninterrupted access to pharmacy care. Patients can always choose to fill their prescriptions at any CVS Pharmacy, or the pharmacy of their choice, if another is more convenient.”
Officials said employees of the affected store are being offered comparable roles in the company.
The news release reported factors influencing the closing were local market dynamics, population shifts, a community’s store density and ensuring there are other geographic access points to meet the needs of the community are considered when shuttering a store is being looked at.
“We will have more than 50 CVS locations remaining in Washington, D.C. and will continue to provide the community with outstanding service at these locations,” the statement said.
The statement mentioned nothing about retail theft or shoplifting which has been linked to the store. However, Hassan Lewis, a Columbia Heights resident, didn’t hesitate to say that theft was the cause of the store’s demise.
“This store closing is not good,” Lewis, 63, said. “The losses that are in that store make no sense. You must protect your property. The people in the store need to be more responsible, the customers and the staff.”
A visit inside the Columbia Heights CVS store reveals rows of empty metal shelves. Very few items are in the refrigerated units. The candy aisle near the cash registers is bare. Behind the registers are a full offering of diapers, however.
There is soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, air fresheners, and laundry products available to customers, but they are behind a glass casing and can only be accessed by a key. The security guard or cashiers must open the glass casings for customers to get their items.
The pharmacy is fully staffed, with staffers waiting to serve customers.
Stanley Mayes is a longtime Ward 1 resident and political leader. Though he is not a resident of Columbia Heights, he comes to the store when he shops at the nearby Target. Mayes said it is his opinion that the “rampant theft” undermined the store.
“When I was young, theft and shoplifting were not tolerated,” Mayes, 74, said. “If you got caught doing those things, you were locked up. The store manager called the police. Now, I don’t think that is the case. I think a lot of kids do it because they know they can get away with it.”
The CVS pharmacies in the 1515 New York Avenue NE, 4500 Wisconsin Avenue NW and 7828 Georgia Avenue NW Targets are closing on Feb. 29, March 7 and March 14, respectively.
“The closures are part of our plan to realign our national retail footprint and reduce store and pharmacy density and are based on our evaluation of population changes, consumer buying patterns, and future health needs to ensure we have the right pharmacy format in the right locations for patients,” a representative for CVS said in an emailed statement.
