The divested stores were purchased by an investment group led by former Thrift Drug executives who left JCPenney after the Eckerd transaction.
One enduring legacy of Thrift Drug was in the 1977 movie Slap Shot, when a Thrift Drug located in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania was shown in the background during a shot of downtown Charlestown (the town that Johnstown portrayed in the film), alongside other now-defunct retailers such as Woolworth (which still exists today as Foot Locker but closed their namesake chain in 1997) and competitor Revco (which was later acquired by CVS Pharmacy).
Also shown was a location of Thrift Drug's nominal successor (through Eckerd) and fellow Pennsylvania pharmacy, Rite Aid.
Due to Rite Aid's connection to Thrift Drug through Eckerd, Rite Aid, as well as CVS which also purchased many Eckerd stores, accept JCPenney credit cards despite having otherwise had no corporate affiliation with JCPenney.
[citation needed] Thrift Drug, Inc. remained an active subsidiary of Eckerd and later Rite Aid (owning stores held by the company at its closure), as shown in the latter company's October 2023 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings.