A customer reads the goodbye message posted to the doors of Kings Pharmacy | Upper East Site
Closure notices are posted to the front doors of Kings Pharmacy | Upper East Site

Kings Pharmacy Permanently Closes UES Location Sooner Than Planned

Just over a week and a half ago, Upper East Site revealed that Kings Pharmacy would be permanently closing its Upper East Side location at the end of February. That closure came early on Wednesday when the pharmacy, which had been serving Yorkville for 20 years, shut down for good nearly a week sooner than initially planned.

A customer reads the goodbye message posted to the doors of Kings Pharmacy | Upper East Site
A customer reads the goodbye message posted to the doors of Kings Pharmacy | Upper East Site

Earlier this month, the manager of Kings Pharmacy explained that the store located at 1619 Third Avenue, between East 90th and 91st Streets, would be closing at the end of February after being priced out of the space they’ve occupied since 2003.

However, Upper East Site has learned that Wednesday was the pharmacy’s last day in operation. On Thursday, signs were posted on the doors to Kings Pharmacy reading “Thank you for the years of business!”

Kings Pharmacy permanently closed on February 22nd, nearly a week earlier than planned | Upper East Site
Kings Pharmacy permanently closed on February 22nd, nearly a week earlier than planned | Upper East Site

The note goes on to inform former customers that their prescriptions have been transferred to the CVS across the street, at the corner of Third Avenue and East 91st Street. 

Inside the store on Thursday, the shelves were bare aft. Boxes of 3M N95 respirator masks and greeting cards were the only merchandise visible through the pharmacy’s windows.

N95 respirator masks and greeting cards were among the unsold merchandise | Upper East Site
N95 respirator masks and greeting cards were among the unsold merchandise | Upper East Site

The pharmacy’s manager had previously told Upper East Site that the rent had doubled on the 3,700 square foot retail space at the base of the Ruppert Tower condominium. According to a commercial real estate listing, the price tag is now $37,000 per month.

Greeting cards were not a hot seller during the going-out-of-business sale | Upper East Site
Greeting cards were not a hot seller during the going-out-of-business sale | Upper East Site

Still dedicated to serving Upper East Siders even after closing, the note at Kings Pharmacy adds that customers needing help or information with specialty prescriptions can call their other location in Park Slope, Brooklyn at (718) 230-3535.

“We are still here to help [and] deliver to you. Thank you!”

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