CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Today, Rite Aid Corporation will celebrate the grand reopening of its Harrisburg Market Street store, now located at 304 Market Street, inside Strawberry Square. Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse will join Rite Aid Executive Vice President of Store Operations Bryan Everett and other company and community officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store today at 9:30 a.m.

“Since announcing our plans for this store last June, many people have worked diligently to bring this project to fruition. Today, we celebrate this new store and recognize those who played a role in this project including the City of Harrisburg, Harristown Development Corporation, our supplier partners and of course, many local Rite Aid associates,” said Everett. “Thanks to their efforts, our relocated Market Street store offers a design and shopping experience as unique as Strawberry Square itself and perfectly illustrates our more than 40 year commitment to the city of Harrisburg and the people who live and work in the community.”

The new 14,000 square foot store showcases the Company’s highly popular Wellness store format, now featured in nearly 2,500 Rite Aid stores nationwide. Rite Aid’s wellness store format, which first debuted in spring of 2011, is part of the company’s continued commitment to providing services, products and resources to help its customers and their families live healthy lives.

From the street level entrance, customers will find a wooden floor path leading directly to the pharmacy department, the core of Rite Aid’s business. Wellness stores have pharmacists with special training in diabetes care, medication management and the ability to immunize against about a dozen diseases including flu, pneumonia, shingles and whooping cough.

Unique to the Market Street location is a one-of-a-kind in-store Hershey Sweet Shop that offers a variety of Hershey’s candy and specialty merchandise. The custom displays, developed in partnership with The Hershey Company, celebrates the confectioner’s most iconic brands including Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s and Twizzlers, and offers a selection of apparel, novelty gifts and of course, the latest chocolate and candy treats from the world’s best-loved confectionary company, headquartered in nearby Hershey.

“The new Rite Aid store in Strawberry Square is another sign of the great things happening in downtown Harrisburg and throughout the city,” said Papenfuse. “We applaud Rite Aid for investing in our city and supporting Harrisburg’s economic vitality.”

Other key in-store design elements include overhead departmental rings designating each section of the store such as beauty, food, home care and seasonal; inside and outside entrances; a relaxing, warm color palette with soothing wood tones and softer lighting; hundreds of new health and wellness products including organic and gluten-free foods; and a private pharmacist consultation room adjacent to the pharmacy where Rite Aid pharmacists can have conversations with patients, administer immunizations and offer other clinical pharmacy services.

In honor of the grand reopening, The Rite Aid Foundation will present a $10,000 KidCents donation to Joshua Group, a local nonprofit organization and one of The Rite Aid Foundation’s KidCents charities. The Joshua Group offers programming that addresses the academic and social needs of economically disadvantaged city youth of all ages living in the Allison Hill neighborhood of Harrisburg, which is marked by concentrated poverty, an epidemic of crime, drugs and violence, and failing public schools. For more information about the organization, visit www.joshuagroup.org.

“One of our earliest supporters, Joshua Group is proud of its more than 10-year relationship with The Rite Aid Foundation, and we consider their support vital to what we’ve been able to help Harrisburg youth achieve,” said Kirk Hallett, Founder and Director of Joshua Group. “The Joshua Group is extremely grateful that The Rite Aid Foundation has once again thought of our kids with this most generous KidCents grant, and we are honored to stand with them today as they celebrate their grand reopening and reaffirm their commitment to the people of Harrisburg, especially our kids.”

As part of the grand reopening celebration, from now through July 14, the Market Street Rite Aid will host a variety of free customer events each week. This includes free health screenings, beauty events and product samplings. All events will take place from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; see www.riteaid.com/strawberrysquare.

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) is one of the nation's leading drugstore chains with more than 4,500 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia and fiscal 2017 annual revenues of $32.8 billion. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company's website at www.riteaid.com.

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