A 16,000-square-foot Rite Aid store will open at a high-traffic Spokane Valley intersection on Thursday.

Rite Aid used what it calls a "customer world" design for the new store, which the Harrisburg, Penn.-based company launched five years ago based on meetings with focus groups. "Customers told us that their relationship with the pharmacist was important, so each new store highlights the pharmacy," Rite Aid said in a news release. It includes a waiting room with chairs and TV and a private consultation room.

The store, at 12222 E. Sprague, is across the street from a longtime Rite Aid store. The company has said in the past that it sought a more-accessible location at that intersection.

Its grand opening will take place Thursday at 8 a.m.

---

---