Genovese Drug Stores was founded in 1924 by Joseph Genovese in
Astoria, Queens. In 1955, Joseph W. Genovese Jr., the son of the founder and the chairman of the board, introduced self‐service in the chain. Joseph Jr. died in December 1975 at the age of 46 after undergoing surgery. In the early 1980s, some locations added arcade video games as an alternative source of revenue. Genovese also operated Genrex, a nursing home division during this time. The company opened its first
Manhattan location in 1993. That year, it also opened its 100th store. In January 1998, the company closed 5 stores and cut 11% of its workforce due to declining profitability. In November 1998, the chain was acquired by
JC Penney, the parent company of
Eckerd, for $432 million in stock and the assumption of $60 million in debt. At that time, the chain was headquartered in
Melville, New York and had 141 stores with 5,000 employees. Following the acquisition, the new owners planned to convert all Genovese locations to the Eckerd name within a year. However, the chain ultimately remained. By 2003, all Genovese stores were remodeled and rebranded as Eckerd. Three years later, Eckerd was in turn purchased by Rite Aid and all locations were rebranded. In 2023, Rite Aid filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Despite shutting down 20 years prior, Genovese Drug Stores was still listed in the filing. On May 5, 2025, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in 2 years, listing assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. Rite Aid will sell all of its assets as part of its procedure, as it overcomes financial challenges such as debt, increased competition, and inflation, including Genovese Drug Stores. ==References==