The only CVS in Forest Park, at 7216 Circle Ave., will close on Aug. 13. The nearby CVS inside Target’s Oak Park location, at 1129 Lake St., will remain open, and all of the prescriptions will be transferred there.
In a statement to the Review, CVS didn’t elaborate on the rationale for the closing, saying only that it was a “difficult business decision.” It pointed to the fact that it had several locations near Forest Park, so it could continue to serve village customers. The village still has a Walgreens at 7200 Roosevelt Rd. and a pharmacy at the Forest Park Walmart, 1300 Des Plaines Ave.
In recent years, CVS closed a number of stores in the Chicago area, stating that they were underperforming. The company stated that the Forest Park location’s closure was no different.
“We made the difficult business decision to close the CVS Pharmacy store located at 7216 Circle Ave.,” it stated. “The closure of this store is not a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our employees. In fact, every effort is being made to place them into comparable roles at other CVS locations nearby. We are committed to Forest Park and the Chicagoland area and continue to serve the local community with outstanding service at our other stores nearby.”
According to CVS’ store locator tool, the pharmacy chain has several locations near Forest Park. Aside from the Target pharmacy, it includes a standalone Oak Park location at 6748 Roosevelt Rd. and a North Riverside location at 7200 W Cermak Rd.
The sign on taped to the store front door as of July 29 stated that the prescriptions would be transferred to the River Forest location at 7929 W. North Ave., the statement indicated the Oak Park Target location.
The Forest Park CVS is located on the village’s northeastern tip, across the street from Oak Park and across the CTA/Metra railroad embankment from River Forest. It was among the more transit-friendly locations in the area, located directly south of Harlem/Lake Green Line el station’s west entrance, and within walking distance of Metra Union Pacific Line’s Oak Park station and stops for CTA bus route 90 and Pace buses 307, which serves Harlem Avenue corridor in Oak Park, and 317, which primarily serves the Madison Street corridor in River Forest.
According to a CVS’ May 4 press release, the company’s overall profits were up by 3.5 percent. The company’s retail revenues increased by $525 million, or 2.3 percent, though the statement noted that COVID-19 testing and vaccinations offset what would otherwise be a loss.
