Foodland to close all seven of its pharmacies by mid-April

The Foodland pharmacy at the Pukalani store on Maui will close on April 13, 2022, with all prescriptions to be transferred to Longs Drugs.

The closure is part of a larger effort across the state, to permanently close all seven Foodland pharmacy locations across the state by mid-April. The stores themselves will remain open, but the pharmacy services are being transferred to Longs.

Founded in 1948 by Maurice J. “Sully” Sullivan, Foodland is Hawaiʻi’s oldest and largest grocery retailer and operates 31 stores across Hawaiʻi and has 3,200 employees. The company entered the pharmacy business in 1995 and currently operates seven pharmacies.

The company issued a press release saying Foodland Super Market, Ltd. has entered into an agreement to confidentially transfer prescriptions, enabling customers to seamlessly continue to fill their prescriptions without disruption at a Longs Drugs location of their choice.

No action will be required on the part of customers.

Customers may continue to call their usual Foodland pharmacy for 90 days after closing and the phone will ring at Longs, according to the announcement. Customers may go to the Longs location of their choice to refill a prescription, as their information will be in the company’s centralized system.

“The decision to exit the pharmacy business was not an easy one for us,” said Jenai S. Wall, Foodland Chairman and CEO in the press release. “While compressed margins and rising costs have led to increasing losses, we were concerned about the impact any closure would have on our many loyal pharmacy customers and employees. We are grateful that our agreement with Longs Drugs will help ensure our customers’ access to care will be uninterrupted, while also enabling us to better focus our attention on delivering great grocery shopping experiences and meeting the ever-changing food needs of our customers.”

The schedule of Foodland pharmacy closures includes the following:

• Foodland Waimea, Foodland Laie, and Sack N Save Puainako: April 11, 2022
• Foodland Kapolei: April 12
• Foodland Kailua and Foodland Pukalani: April 13
• Foodland Princeville: April 14