WILSON, N.C. (WNCN) — Wilson community members are trying to stop to keep their local Walgreens open.

The city’s mayor is urging people to sign petitions and reach out to help the underserved community around the store.

Around 40 people came together Monday at the Walgreens parking lot along Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to call on the company to keep the store that’s set to close on October 11.

“Some places have a Walgreens because they want one. This Walgreens is here because we need it,” Wilson Mayor Carlton Stevens said.

Annie Sutton lives nearby and she said many in the area don’t have reliable transportation or don’t feel comfortable driving far for their medications.

“Older women, seniors, which this area is predominant, large senior citizens and retired people. They do not want to have to travel a long distance,” Sutton said.

The store tried to close in 2021 but a similar push to keep the store two years ago kept the location open.

“They say that we were the second lowest performing Walgreens in the state,” Stevens said.

But a similar push to keep the store two years ago kept the location open.

Walgreens has another store three miles away on the other side of Wilson.

The mayor started a petition on Monday. He says losing the store would also hurt the area’s economic development.

“If it’s you need more participation, whatever you need. If our community learns what is needed, I can guarantee you it will happen,” Stevens said.

A Walgreens representative released this statement:

“We are aware of and appreciate the concerns of the community. When faced with the difficult decision to close a location, several factors are taken into account, including our existing footprint of stores, dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers, among other reasons. As we expand as a leader in healthcare, we are focused on best meeting the needs of patients and customers in communities we serve by creating the right network of stores in the right locations.”