Roxbury Walgreens to close Wednesday amid community backlash

A critical pharmacy in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood is set to close Wednesday despite widespread pushback.

Those opposed to the closure said it further exacerbates the notion of a pharmacy desert, impacting low-income communities of color in Boston.

The Walgreens on Warren Street would be the fourth store to close in the area since late 2022, when locations in Mattapan, Hyde Park and lower Roxbury shut down.

This is especially dismaying for residents who don't have a car and depend on the proximity of this pharmacy.

Walgreens has cited changes in the market and buying habits of customers as factors in their decision.

The announcement earlier this month sparked outrage in the community, with activists holding protests and issuing letters to the company. Local and state politicians have also tried to get Walgreens to reconsider. Yet, nothing seemed to have kept them from moving ahead with the closure.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley called out the drug store on Tuesday on the House floor.

"When a Walgreens leaves a neighborhood, they disrupt the entire community and they take them and they take with them baby formula, diapers, asthma inhalers, life-saving medication and of course, jobs," said Pressley.

"All the shelves, they’re all empty," noted Walgreens customer Gilberto Lopez.

"It is important to have this kind of service in every area," said Emmanuel Chauvet.

The move is a hard pill to swallow for those who don't have the means of transportation and depend on the proximity of this pharmacy.

"This is something you should be fighting for," said community activist Clifton Braithwaite.

Activists and elected officials tried multiple times to get the company to reconsider, arguing it creates pharmacy deserts in low-income communities of color…

"If we come together as a country and we boycott them across the United States. The bottom line is they would have to start listening to us," said Braithwaite.

And while there's those who are fighting the closure, others aren't surprised.

"More workers and you know, security. That's what they need," said Lopez.

"They need to do a better job keeping this place running. I'm not going to force a business to stay when it's losing money," said Chauvet.

The store will officially shut down at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Walgreens said it will transfer all prescriptions to the nearest location a mile away on Columbus Avenue and offer free same day delivery on prescriptions and other products for 90 days.