Beebe Healthcare set to take over Rite-Aid building lease in Lewes
Now that the Rite-Aid store on Savannah Road in Lewes is closed for good, neighboring Beebe Healthcare is looking to the future of the property.
The Lewes store closed June 29, following the Rite-Aid on Route 1 at Rehoboth Mall, which shut down about two weeks earlier.
The now-vacant building, which was once the Edgehill Pharmacy, is next to the entrance of Beebe’s Margaret H. Rollins Campus.
In a statement to the Cape Gazette, Beebe Healthcare officials said, “Prior to recent developments, Beebe Healthcare was set to take over the building lease in March 2026. With Rite-Aid currently in bankruptcy, we are exploring options for what can be done prior to next year. There are no set plans on how the space will be utilized.”
The statement also said, “Beebe Cape Pharmacy has been accepting new patients to ensure our community is provided with the prescriptions they need to maintain their health and well-being.”
Gov. Matt Meyer signed Senate Bill 180 June 30. Parts of the bill directly address the closure of the 29 Rite-Aid stores in the state.
The Delaware Board of Pharmacy then issued a temporary emergency order, implementing measures to reduce any disruption to patients transferring prescriptions to new pharmacies.
One of the provisions allows out-of-state licensed pharmacists to fill prescriptions in Delaware.
Rite-Aid has filed for bankruptcy twice in the last two years and is now shuttering all of its stores nationwide.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
