MACON, Ga. — The Walgreens on Gray Highway in east Macon officially shut its doors at 3 p.m. Thursday.
It's a store to run a quick errand, or for some, it’s an important place to get medicine.
Store managers from other Walgreens locations took the merchandise to their own stores, even the store's furniture .
“I didn’t find out until two or three days ago,” Wendell Harrelson said.
He says he’s a frequent customer.
“Twice a week,” he said.
Harrelson picks up prescriptions for his wife, himself and his 95-year-old mom.
“It's three minutes from my home,' Harrelson said. "I could stop here on my way to my mom’s and do things that she needs to get done.”
Now, he says he'll have to drive 10 miles away to the next nearest location.
“There's certainly enough customers in this area to support this Walgreens. I regret it's closing. It's handy for those living on this side of the river and it's just disappointing,” Harrelson said.
What about the folks who don't have a car?
“That's the closest place for us to get our medicine and stuff,” said Ted Shelley, who’s in a wheelchair.
Shelley lives at the McAfee apartments nearby and says the only pharmacies nearby are the Walmart and CVS across the highway.
“It's too dangerous. People be in walkers trying to get across there. I don’t cross the street,” he says. “I either have to get a ride, or wait until I can find somebody. hate it, but they gotta do what they gotta do,” he explained.
Shelley says the rise of crime could be what's shutting the store down.
“I know this Walgreens has been broken into two or three times,” he said.
Bibb County Sheriff's Office records say the store has been the victim of commercial robbery or theft 22 times in the past year. There were also cases of fighting, trespassing and suspicious activity, police records show.
However, to Loraine Sands, it was always a nice store.
“I loved all the employees there and they just had great hospitality and I loved this Walgreens,” Sand said.
I spoke with Walgreens employees who did not want to speak on camera. They said they've all been transferred to other locations.
We reached out to Walgreens for a comment.
They said the closing is due to several factors, like the dynamics of the local market, changes in buying habits and more.
The closest Walgreens are now on Vineville Avenue in Macon. That’s six miles away. The other option is in, Gray 11 miles away.
Here is Walgreen’s full statement:
"Our location at 1280 Gray Hwy in Macon, GA is slated to close on Nov. 9. Typically, when a store closes our pharmacy patients do not have to take any action. They receive notice about where their prescription files will automatically transfer through mail and other means to provide details about continued access to their prescriptions and health and wellness services. And, we make every effort to retain impacted team members at other nearby locations.
When faced with the difficult decision to close a location, several factors are taken into account, including our existing footprint of stores, dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers, among other reasons. With our goal to be the independent partner of choice — not just in pharmacy but also in healthcare services where we can improve healthcare, lower costs, and help patients — we are creating the right network of stores in the right locations. "