The large Shoppers Drug Mart store at Hastings Street and Gilmore Avenue is closing this week.
The Shoppers pharmacy is relocating one block east, to 4114 Hastings St., and the postal outlet will be moving to the Pharmasave at Hastings Street and Rosser Avenue.
The pharmacist and owner, Mel D'Sa, couldn't come to terms with the current landlord on the lease going forward, according to Tammy Smitham, director of communications and corporate affairs for Shoppers Drug Mart.
D'Sa will run and own the new Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy location.
The Heights Merchants Association has had a lot of people asking about the closure, according to Sajeda Virji, the association's marketing and events coordinator.
Teri Smith, acting executive director for the Heights Merchants Association, said it is a loss for the neighbourhood.
"It's been in the community for a long time," she said. "It is going to be a loss not only for people in the community, but also the merchants."
But the pharmacy and postal outlet will stay in the Heights, she pointed out.
"We're not losing the pharmacy, we're just losing the retail end of the store," Smith said.
The 13,000-square-foot store is one of the largest in the neighbourhood, aside from the Safeway at Hastings Street and Rosser Avenue.
"It needs to be replaced by something fairly significant," Smith said of the store.
The landlord is in negotiations with potential tenants, but nothing has been finalized as of yet, she added.
"But there is definitely interest on the site, so that's good," Smith said. "That was more of a concern."
While the association didn't want Shoppers to close, it is a relief that the space will not be left vacant, she added.
"We are very happy that there are interested parties," she said. "But it will be a loss."
There had been rumours of the possible closure for years, according to Smith, particularly when the Shoppers in Burnaby's Kensington neighbourhood was renovated and a new one went in at Hastings and Kaslo Street in Vancouver.
"With those two very new, much larger Shoppers that were close by, we weren't necessarily shocked," Smith said.
"We hope whoever goes in will be a very high quality, communityminded business, as Shoppers was," she added.
