Detroit, MI
5th metro Detroit drugstore closes and customers think they know why
The recent news that a busy Rite Aid store in Midtown Detroit will soon be closing — reportedly because of theft — was disappointing for some longtime shoppers, although not a big surprise to everyone.
Detroit resident Aaron Boone, 61, recalled how he was standing in the checkout line a few months ago when he saw a man simply walk out of the store without paying for a large pack of beer.
“He (came) right there like he was going to pay for a 30-pack of beer, and he walked right out,” Boone said. “It’s terrible, man.”
The Rite Aid at 4612 Woodward is among the latest batch of “underperforming” stores that the drugstore chain has made plans to close since filing for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy last fall. The Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid chain intends to stay in business, but with hundreds fewer of the 2,000 stores and retail pharmacies that it had last year in 17 states.
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A Rite Aid corporate spokesperson didn’t give the specific reasons why it was decided to close the Woodward Avenue location. However, store staff have been telling customers that theft was a reason. One employee, who did not provide their name, told the Free Press last week that theft was among the reasons for the closure.
The store at one time stationed a security guard near the entrance. However, the guard wasn’t directed to chase after suspected shoplifters and therefore didn’t deter all of the theft, one staffer told a customer. Some of the more expensive merchandise in the store, including laundry detergents and hair regrowth products, are placed behind locked shelves.
The landlord of the building said Rite Aid had been a tenant for 20 years and didn’t specify why it is leaving. The store is on the ground floor of an Albert Kahn-designed building that is over 100 years old and has 56 residential apartments.
“We don’t know why they left. Frankly, their sales were going up every year,” Christine Jonna, of Bloomfield Hills-based Jonna Companies, said Monday. “It wasn’t a matter of rent; we even offered them a sweeter deal.”
The Federal Trade Commission in December barred Rite Aid from using facial recognition technology in its stores for five years in a settlement for allegations that the drugstore chain’s efforts to stop known shoplifters from entering its stores resulted in false accusations toward innocent shoppers, particularly people of color. The FTC claimed Rite Aid had at one time deployed the facial recognition technology in multiple states, including Michigan.
Once the doors shut next month, the Midtown Detroit Rite Aid will become at least the fifth drugstore to close in the past six or seven years along a stretch of Woodward Avenue running through Detroit and Highland Park.
The other shuttered pharmacy stores include:
- A CVS at 10301 Woodward Ave. that closed in 2019 and briefly became a charter school.
- A CVS at 7451 Woodward Ave. that closed in 2018 or early 2019 and is now a Happy Pizza.
- A CVS at 14140 Woodward Ave. in Highland Park that closed in 2019 or 2020 and is now a Family Furniture store.
- A Walgreens at 14048 Woodward Ave. in Highland Park that closed in about 2017 and is now a Family Dollar.
Asked about its past store closures, a CVS spokesman said many factors are taken into consideration when deciding to shut a location, including “local market dynamics, population shifts, store density and other access points to meet the community’s health and wellness needs.”
Nationwide, drugstore chains have been closing various urban locations in recent years amid a rise in thefts and robberies. And retailer Target last fall said that theft and “organized retail crime” that threatened the safety of employees prompted their decision to close nine stores in four states.
A representative for the nonprofit community and development group Midtown Detroit Inc. said they haven’t done any recent formal surveys of area retailers on the subject of theft.
“It never feels good to see a staple store that supports community members in our neighborhoods close, especially as this isn’t just a Midtown Detroit issue, but an example of what is happening across the country,” Maureen Stapleton, the group’s interim director, said in a statement. “We will certainly continue to monitor this situation and observe if there are some lessons learned to ensure we take the proper steps — within our control — to prevent this from happening again.”
The Rite Aid store closure, set to happen March 25 for the pharmacy and April 21 for the store, will be an inconvenience for residents such as Ross Consuegra, 67, who said he will likely transfer his prescriptions to a 24-hour CVS that is in the general area at the corner of Brush Street and East Warren Avenue.
“So I got my options,” Consuegra said. “But for other people, it’s very disappointing.”
More than two dozen Rite Aid locations in Michigan have closed or will be closing as part of the company’s ongoing reorganization. The Rite Aid website says there are now about 1,700 total stores.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl.
The Detroit Lions checked off a major item from their offseason to-do list Thursday.
They inked linebacker Jack Campbell, the heart and soul of their defense, to a four-year contract extension worth $81 million (reportedly $51.5 million guaranteed). It was a well-deserved extension for Campbell, who was named to his first Pro Bowl and earned first-team AP All-Pro honors in 2025.
The 25-year-old will enter the 2026 season as the second-highest paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL at $20.25 million per year, trailing only San Francisco’s Fred Warner ($21M/year).
Campbell led all Lions defenders – and finished second in the league – with 176 tackles last season, while playing in all but eight of the team’s 1,105 defensive snaps. He also notched career-high totals in sacks (five), forced fumbles (three) and fumble recoveries (two) while recording a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 90.2. It marked the second-best PFF overall grade among 88 qualified linebackers a season ago.
In addition to his high-level production, Campbell has donned the green dot and served as the de facto “quarterback” of the defense the last two seasons, relaying calls to the rest of the unit from Detroit’s defensive coaching staff.
Lions head man Dan Campbell offered high praise for the middle linebacker this past December.
“He’s our bell cow,” Campbell said. “He’s smart and he’s instinctive, and he is snap to whistle all out, all the time. In practice, too. And he doesn’t take plays off, he doesn’t take days off. He goes after the football, he’s a ball guy. So, he’s invaluable.”
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The fourth-year pro has grown into an immensely valuable member of Detroit’s defense, morphing from an inconsistently productive, part-time starter in 2023 (57.3 PFF grade) to one of the NFL’s very best linebackers. And the Iowa product has proven to be especially proficient against the run, with no less than a 75.9 PFF run-defense grade in his first three NFL seasons.
Campbell has proven time and time again he’s capable of captaining a defense, and he’s more than validated Detroit general manager Brad Holmes’ initially criticized decision to select an off-ball linebacker at No. 18 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
“This is Jack Campbell’s defense,” Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard told reporters at the NFL combine in February. “And I don’t hesitate when I say that. This is Jack Campbell’s defense, and everybody in that locker room knows it, point blank, period. It all goes through Jack.”
He’s more than earned the right to be the leader of Sheppard’s unit, and Detroit should be in good hands with Campbell patrolling the middle of the defense in 2026.
Holmes & Co. made an extremely wise decision locking up the gritty linebacker until 2030 and should be commended for such. At this present juncture, I believe the Campbell extension deserves an “A” grade.
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The Southfield Freeway was closed Thursday night after a shooting occurred in the area of M-39 near Joy Road, the Michigan State Police reported on X.
“Troopers are currently in the preliminary stages of the investigation, and additional information will be released as it becomes available,” the state police said.
Officials said the freeway is expected to remain closed for “several hours while investigators process the scene.” There was no indication about whether anyone was injured in the shooting. The state police gave no further details.
“The roadway will be reopened as soon as the investigation allows,” the state police said.
rburr@detroitnews.com
DETROIT – Mike Duggan is dropping out of the race for Michigan’s next governor.
The former Detroit mayor announced his withdrawal as an Independent candidate from the 2026 gubernatorial race on Thursday, May 21, on his campaign website.
You can read his full statement below:
Dear Friends,
I am so disappointed to have to write you this letter.
For the last 18 months I’ve worked every day to try to change Michigan’s toxic party politics. I’ve been supported by hundreds of volunteers who believe deeply that years of constant Democratic-Republican conflict in Lansing have led to our schools declining, our housing costs rising, and our young people moving out of Michigan in record numbers.
We knew the Independent route was filled with challenge. Even against those odds, the excitement for real change carried this campaign upward for more than a year. In every one of the 5-10 town halls a week I was holding across Michigan, we hosted Democrat, Republican, and Independent neighbors all mixed together in lively and positive discussions. It was a remarkable experience.
But by April, the mood of the country had shifted suddenly and dramatically. Democrats (and many Independents) were unified in anger as Trump’s war in Iran dragged on and gas prices rose above $5 a gallon. On May 5, the Democratic State Senate candidate in Saginaw won 60% of the vote in a seat Republicans thought would be very competitive.
Against the Democratic headwinds, we worked twice as hard. We continued to pile up huge numbers of union endorsements, once the unions learned that Michigan election law allowed voters to vote both straight ticket Democrat and also vote Duggan as an Independent.
But for the public in general, our internal polling showed the intense anger over gas prices and Iran was boosting Democrats in every office nationally. The Chamber poll last week showing we’d fallen 11 points behind the Democratic candidate reflects that reality.
Being down 11 points in May wouldn’t discourage me – I’ve been down worse than that in the past. But this time it’s compounded by our inability to build serious national fundraising support. Michigan donors have been extraordinarily generous in supporting this campaign – 94% of my donors come from Michigan. We raised more in-state than any other candidate.
But Governor’s campaigns are today funded overwhelmingly from well-established networks of national party money, which is why I’ve been all across America meeting with national groups to try to build a competitive fundraising network for Independents. There is much interest, but we’ve finally concluded the national fundraising for these groups is too much in its infancy to be of great help to our race in 2026. As generous as our Michigan donors have been, we will be strongly outspent by the national Republican and Democratic parties this fall.
If we were even in the polls and behind in fundraising, we have a path to winning. If we were behind in the polls and even in fundraising, we have a path. But we’re behind in both. It’s just not right to ask our volunteers, faith leaders, unions, elected officials and donors to continue in a campaign that, in my heart, I no longer feel good about our chances to win.
I got into this race to try to change our politics, not to be a spoiler. I’m still hopeful our campaign will prove to have a real long-term impact. 23% support in the last poll means more than 1.6 million Michigan voters are today looking for a Governor candidate serious about reducing the toxic partisan politics. If the candidates on the ballot this year take that message to heart and truly reach out to those voters, we will have accomplished something important.
I will never be able to express the gratitude I feel for all your support and encouragement. I wish I could have done better for you.
Mike Duggan
Duggan was the first candidate to announce his bid for governor, as he made the announcement after he finished serving as Detroit’s mayor.
The once-Democrat was credited by many for leading Detroit out of bankruptcy into a thriving city.
He was elected mayor in 2013, running a write-in campaign after a ballot challenge.
Since Duggan was in office, violent crime decreased, and Detroit’s population increased slightly in 2023. That was the first uptick in population since the 1950s.
Current candidates running for Michigan’s next governor include Democrats Jocelyn Benson and Chris Swanson, and Republicans John James, Aric Nesbitt, Mike Cox, Perry Johnson and Ralph Rebandt.
Benson, in response to Duggan’s announcement, released the following statement:
“I want to thank Mayor Mike Duggan for what he brought to this race and for his years of service to Detroit. At a time when politics can feel divided and cynical, we need more civility, more listening, and more people willing to work together to move our state forward. I welcome Mayor Duggan’s ideas, his supporters, and everyone who believes Michigan’s future is bigger than division — and that it can be a place where anyone can afford to live, work, and thrive. We may not always agree on everything, but we share a commitment to building a stronger Michigan. And that work continues in this campaign.”
Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State and Democratic candidate in Michigan gubernatorial race
James also released the following statement in response to Duggan’s announcement:
“I want to thank Mike Duggan for his years of service to the people of Michigan and Detroit. I respect anyone willing to step into the arena and serve something bigger than themselves. While we have real disagreements on policy, we both recognize Michigan is headed in the wrong direction.
Our state has endured too much decline and political dysfunction. I’m ready to work with anyone willing to deliver real solutions, reject the politics of division, and fight for safer communities, stronger families and economic growth. Our state’s future is too important for anything less.”
John James, representative for Michigan’s 10th district and Republican candidate in Michigan’s gubernatorial race
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
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