The drug store at the intersection of Routes 663 and 29 in Pennsburg will close later this month. Rite Aid, located at 350 Main St., will shut its door at the end of business on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

            An email message from the company's press office, received shortly after noon Wednesday, confirmed the closure. The unsigned message states that customers can pick up their prescriptions at CVS, located at 290 Pottstown Avenue in Pennsburg.

           "Like all retail businesses, we regularly review each of our locations to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers, communities and overall business," Rite Aide wrote in the email.

            "A decision to close a store is one we take very seriously and is based on a variety of factors including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance. We review every neighborhood to ensure our customers will have access to health services, be it at Rite Aid or a nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services. We also strive to transfer associates to other Rite Aid locations where possible."

            According to multiple published reports, the chain has proposed a bankruptcy plan and is closing 400 to 500 of its 2,100 stores. On Sept. 22, the Wall Street Journal posted a story on its website stating that the company is dealing with more than $3.3 billion in debt and is facing over 1,000 lawsuits alleging that it oversupplied opioids.

            APS Realty Corporation, a company based in Bethlehem, has owned the property since October 2012, according to information posted on the Montgomery County Property Tax website. A woman answering a phone at the business Wednesday morning said the company had no comment.

            Diane Stevens, Pennsburg council president, and Mayor Charles Shagg did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.