Tops Markets to close pharmacies in 27 stores, including three in Onondaga County

Tops Markets, LLC plans to close pharmacy departments in 27 of its 162 stores, including locations in North Syracuse, Fayetteville, and Skaneateles, later this month.

It plans to “reinvest in these stores and use the additional space to offer shoppers more product choices,” the company said in a news release.

The transition is part of an agreement whereby Tops will sell customer scripts and inventory to five CVS/Pharmacy and 22 Rite Aid locations near each affected store.

“Tops does not have a one size fits all approach to our stores, which means our neighborhood locations vary greatly by size and offering.,” Frank Curci, Tops’ chairman, president and CEO, said in the news release. “Space inside some of our supermarkets is at a premium and some of our locations are not filling enough prescriptions to make the most efficient use of our resources. A business decision was made to close out select pharmacy departments.”

The departments to be closed account for less than 20 percent of the company’s prescription sales and Tops will continue to serve customers from 52 pharmacy locations within its network of stores, the company said.

Tops will close the pharmacy at its location at 3803 Brewerton Rd. in Clay and transfer the prescription files to the Rite Aid pharmacy at 5380 W. Taft Rd. in Clay.

The company also plans to shutter the pharmacy at 5351 N. Burdick St. in Fayetteville and shift the prescription files to the Rite Aid location at 101 Towne Drive in Fayetteville.

In addition, the Tops will close the pharmacy at its Skaneateles store, located at 40 Fennell St., and transfer the prescription files to the CVS/Pharmacy located at 27 Fennell St.

In the available pharmacy spaces, Tops will continue expanding its offerings in health products, beauty products, fresh food, deli and other product areas, the company said.

Headquartered in the Buffalo suburb of Williamsville, Tops Markets operates 162 supermarkets. With more than 16,000 employees, Tops serves areas of upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania, and western Vermont.