BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Commons at University at Buffalo's North Campus could soon lose a marketplace staple due to corporate changes. As first reported by UB's student newspaper The Spectrum, the campus CVS, 520 Lee Entrance, is slated to become one of about 900 of the chain’s stores to close due to "changes in consumer buying patterns," which will leave many students without immediate access to the products they need.
Shannen Kaufman has worked at CVS since she was 16 and transferred to the campus location upon becoming a student at UB. The now 20-year-old shift supervisor is speaking out, at risk of losing her job, to advocate for the store to remain open. She’s hopeful that the company will see the value of this location.
“This is an essential part, not even of just The Commons, which I do believe it ties the whole Commons together," she said. "A lot of people come here, and then they go get something to eat, rather than the other way around. I really think that if people come together to save this campus institution, then maybe they’ll change their mind.”
While CVS plans to slash about 10% of its stores over the next three years, the UB location is expected to close in January 2022.
"We have made the difficult business decision to close the CVS Pharmacy store located at 520 Lee Entrance Commons in January," CVS Pharmacy retail communications manager Matt Blanchette said in a statement. "The closure of this store is not a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our employees. In fact, our colleagues were all offered comparable roles at other CVS locations nearby. We understand the disappointment of our closing store's neighbors and customers. We are committed to the Buffalo area and will continue to provide the community with outstanding service at our other stores nearby."
While not an on-site pharmacy, the CVS offers valuable services and items to students that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere on campus. The only other convenience store on campus is about five minutes from The Commons by foot and has a much more limited supply of items.
“If people want to get something, they would have to go on the bus to go all the way across campus to the Ellicott Complex where the convenience store The Ellie is,” Kaufman said. “But even then, if you need medication, there’s not that much stuff there for you to get. So if you are sick, you have to wait until Saturday when the mall market bus comes to take you to Wal-Mart so you can go and buy medication, but if you’re sick at the beginning of the week, you can’t wait.”
As of now, Kaufman says the store has only a 10% chance of remaining open, but she hopes that others, both on and off campus, will advocate for this essential location for students or an equivalent one if the CVS does indeed close.
“It’s a 90% chance that they’re going to close it on Jan. 22," she said. "The DM said there’s a 10% chance that they’ll save the store, but I’m hoping that by talking about it I can make that a higher chance. But it’s almost certainly closing.”
Kaufman encourages the community to contact CVS and voice concerns over the closing of the North Campus location.
“Even if it does close, I hope that the attention brought to this issue will have UB scrambling to find another convenience store or pharmacy in its place,” Kaufman said. “Because I think it’s important that we don’t leave this spot vacant, even if we can’t save this CVS.”