One Kings Highway Duane Reade Closes; Several To Go?

Photo and tip by Arthur Borko

When Walgreens bought up the New York City-based Duane Reade chain in February, the growing corporate giant said there were no immediate plans to close any of the branches. But we knew better, and publicly worried that the number of stores that competed with their new sister branches would cause the company to shutter locations.

Well, six months later and that fear is becoming a reality. The corporate overlords are starting to cut back on redundant services. The Kings Highway Walgreens branch near Coney Island Avenue is now shuttered. Presumably because it competes with two other pharmacies with the same ownership – one across the street and the other on Kings Highway and East 14th Street.

I wonder what this means for other branches of the Walgreens-Duane Reade chain, which include the newly opened Bragg Street and Avenue U store, which sits near a Duane Reade on Nostrand Avenue; there are two more branches, one under each brand, near the Avenue U subway stations.

Here’s the map of all local locations, just to refresh your memory from February:
View

Sheepshead Bay Walgreens & Duane Reades

in a larger map