Genovese Drug Stores

Genovese Drug Stores

File:Genovese-logo.jpg
Industry	Pharmacy
Founded	1924 (1924)
Defunct	Sold: 1998 (1998) Brand retired: 2003 (2003)
Fate	Acquired by Eckerd
Headquarters	Melville, New York
Products	Pharmacy, Cosmetics, Health and Beauty Aids, General Merchandise, Snacks

Genovese Drug Stores was a pharmacy chain operating across New York City, Long Island, northern New Jersey, as well as Fairfield County, Connecticut and Hartford County, Connecticut. In 1998, it was purchased by JCPenney and integrated into its subsidiary, Eckerd Corporation.

History

The inception of Genovese Drug Stores dates back to 1924 when Joseph Genovese established the company in Astoria, Queens. The introduction of self-service stores to the chain came in 1955 under Joseph W. Genovese Jr., who was both the founder’s son and chairman of the board.

Joseph Jr. passed away in December 1975 at age 46 following surgery. His father died three years later in November 1978 at the age of 75. Subsequently, leadership transitioned to Leonard Genovese, the founder’s second son, who took over as chairman.

By 1978, Genovese operated 50 stores with its corporate headquarters located in Melville, New York. During the early 1980s, several locations incorporated arcade video games as an additional revenue stream. Alongside its retail operations, the company managed Genrex, a nursing home division. The chain expanded into Manhattan in 1993 with its first store opening there. That same year marked the milestone of launching the 100th store.

Facing profitability challenges in January 1998, Genovese closed five outlets and reduced its workforce by approximately 11%.

Later that year in November, JC Penney acquired Genovese for $432 million in stock plus the assumption of $60 million in debt. At that time, the chain was headquartered in Melville, New York with 141 stores employing around 5,000 people. The Genovese family still retained nearly full ownership prior to the sale.

Post-acquisition plans aimed to rebrand all Genovese locations under the Eckerd banner within one year; however, the original brand persisted for some time. By 2003, every Genovese store had been renovated and rebranded as Eckerd.

Eckerd itself was acquired by Rite Aid three years later, resulting in another rebranding of all former Genovese locations. In 2023, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Despite having ceased operations two decades earlier, Genovese Drug Stores remained listed within this bankruptcy filing.

On May 5, 2025, Rite Aid initiated a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing within two years. The company reported assets and liabilities ranging between $1 billion and $10 billion. As part of this restructuring process aimed at addressing financial pressures such as debt load, heightened competition, and inflationary impacts, Rite Aid announced plans to liquidate all assets—including those associated with Genovese Drug Stores.