DALTON, Ga. — And then there were none.

The Kmart store at 1308 W. Walnut Ave. will close, according to parent company Sears Holdings, which will leave Dalton — which now has two Kmarts — with zero.

“The store will close to the public in early March 2018,” Sears Holdings spokesman Howard Riefs said. “Until then, it will remain open for customers. The store will begin its liquidation sale on Dec. 14. We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced.”

Riefs did not say when the decision was made to close the Walnut Avenue store, but some employees said they were told Tuesday.

Carl Campbell, executive director of the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority, said the decision said more about the strategy of Sears Holdings than the local economy.

“We have calls every month (from) people who are interested in that spot and have kind of been watching that Kmart to see what’s going to happen,” he said. “We certainly didn’t want to see it close. But now that we know that news is here, we’ll work hard to get something good in it.”

Campbell said the land is owned locally by the Hubbs family, but the building is owned by someone in Colorado whose name he could not immediately identify, and Kmart has a long-term lease on it.

The Kmart on Glenwood Avenue, along with stores in Macon and Tifton, was one of 45 stores the company in November announced would close. The Glenwood Avenue Kmart will close in January.

Dalton resident Carol Pelley said she knew then that the Kmart on Walnut Avenue would close eventually.

“I didn’t think it would be this soon,” she said. “I hate that it was this close to Christmas. But the one on (Glenwood) seemed like a stronger store, so if they were closing it, I figured the one on Walnut would probably close, too.”

The company closed the Sears store in Walnut Square Mall in September.

“This is not an effort solely aimed at cost savings but is part of a strategy we have been executing against as many of our larger stores are too big for our needs,” said Riefs. “Having fewer stores — and the right format — will help us bring Sears Holdings to a size and place to meet the realities of the changing retail world.”

Riefs said customers can continue to shop Kmart online at kmart.com or its membership platform, shopyourway.com.