Auburn Grehsam residents upset over planned CVS Pharmacy closure

Ald. David Moore (17th) expresses frustration about the pending closure of an Auburn Gresham CVS Pharmacy, 7858 S. Halsted St., on Jan. 7, 2020. | Manny Ramos/Sun-Times

Residents in Auburn Gresham are outraged over the pending closure of a neighborhood CVS Pharmacy.

Ald. David Moore (17th) and customers claim they never received a notice of the company’s plan to close its pharmacy at 7858 S. Halsted St. on Jan. 10. A second pharmacy at 4777 N. Milwaukee Ave. on the Northwest Side is also slated to close.

“I’ve never got an official statement saying they were closing,” Moore said. “I’m very frustrated that they haven’t met with the residents.”

Amy Thibault, a CVS Pharmacy spokeswoman, said poor performance was the deciding factor to close the stores.

“The closure of these stores is not a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our employees who work there,” said Thibault. “Every effort will be made to help place them into comparable roles at other CVS locations in Chicago.”

Thibault wouldn’t say how many employees will be affected.

CVS Pharmacy said the city was made aware of the closure in November and Moore was notified in early December, which he disputes.

Moore said his offices has struggled to get CVS to explain the closure in detail.

“When I asked for an explanation why [they were closing] they didn’t tell me. So what does underperforming mean?” Moore said. “I want to see the numbers.”

Moore said closing the pharmacy will affect senior citizens like Juanita Love who rely on this CVS to fill prescriptions.

Love said there is no way she can travel the 2 miles to the next nearest CVS at 7855 S. Western Ave.

“This is a great hurt to us because our block club seniors come here,” Love said. “This is something we really need to stay in our community.”

Carlos Nelson, CEO of the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp., said this is another example of disinvestment in the neighborhood. A Bank of America directly across the street closed in July.

“Let’s get CVS to come back to the table and keep this store open,” Nelson said.

Moore, who also gets his medications filled at the CVS, said he plans to lead a boycott against the pharmacy citywide if the closure goes through.

CVS Pharmacy said it plans to close pharmacies at 7858 S. Halsted St. and 4777 N Milwaukee Ave. on Jan. 10.

Manny Ramos is a corps member in Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of issues affecting Chicago’s South and West sides.