Sears announced Monday morning it was closing dozens of its unprofitable stores as it looks to stay in business. Among those to be shuttered due to a lack of shoppers is the Sears at the Chautauqua Mall.

In total, 142 Sears and Kmart locations are scheduled to close, with liquidation sales beginning in the next two weeks. The West Ellicott Kmart is not currently on the list of stores to close.

No one from the Lakewood Sears could be reached for comment Monday. A call to the Chautauqua Mall, which also lost the Bon Ton when it shut its doors earlier this year, was not returned.

Just three days after Sears’ 48th anniversary at the Chautauqua Mall, this news ended the 89-year history the company and its three locations for the Chautauqua County store has earned. Sears was first introduced to Jamestown on March 16, 1929, in the former Gage Furniture Building at 100 E. Second St. After 20 years at that location, the store moved to a much larger space, the current office for The Post-Journal at the corner of West Second and Cherry streets, effective Aug. 23, 1949. It offered four times the sales space than the original Jamestown location.

Pictured is a file photo from The Post-Journal of Sears from November 1973, about three years after it opened. The location was the longtime anchor of the mall.

Flash forward 21 years, and Sears was feeling the need for an improved space and more parking for its customers. Sears became the first operating business at the Chautauqua Mall on Oct. 12, 1970, at 10 a.m.

“We present our newest full line department store, offering the latest in fashions, home fashion and appliances,” an advertisement described in a special edition of The Post-Journal in 1970. “Be there for our grand opening and judge for yourself.”

Six months later, other business began to fill up the mall following Sears’ example, and a hub for shopping that would draw customers for decades was born.

“The history of Sears in Jamestown is the story of a relatively small establishment opened just before the stock market crash of 1929 which expanded to become on of the top retail centers in the city,” said an article in that special edition.

What began as a small watch sales business in 1886 transformed into a fledgling retail operation in 1925 that expanded into an empire of stores.

A letter that appeared in a special edition of The Post-Journal in 1971 welcoming tenants to the Chautauqua Mall.

The local move into Lakewood happened at the height of the chain’s popularity and brought with it more success for Sears in the county and memories too.

Scott Axelson, owner of Clear View Pools and Spas, said his father was one of the contractors who helped construct the Sears in Lakewood. He would sometimes have to bring Axelson’s 4-year-old brother to work, meaning the brother actually got to walk on the roof.

“We always went to the mall,” said Axelson, who noted that it was the common Friday night hangout when he was growing up. “The mall was the destination to go out and shop.”

Axelson thinks online shopping is killing more traditional businesses like Sears, something he said is unfortunate since advice and personal customer service aren’t available through online means.

Busti Town Supervisor Jesse Robbins agreed with Axelson’s sentiments and will miss using the store’s auto services and selection of tools. Fellow councilman Todd Hanson said it’s unfortunate that some customers seemingly prefer lower prices than high value.

“Sears is going to be missed,” Robbins said.

Lakewood officials also lamented the significant job loss and impact on the business climate the store’s closing brings. Lakewood trustee Randy Holcomb mentioned that this might be another step toward the mall being re-purposed for medical, governmental, residential or recreational reasons. He said the closing could also affect the tax assessment if other businesses don’t make up for the loss in sales tax revenue.

Holcomb described the closing as “another hit (that) affects so many things.”

“The village is always concerned when a business closes,” said Ted McCague, Lakewood’s deputy mayor.

Following the closures of Sam’s Club and Bon Ton earlier this year, McCague said job loss in the area is a significant disappointment.

Fellow trustee Ellen Barnes echoed the same worries and said the loss of jobs and lowering of assessments are issues of prosperity that are indicative of a shaky economy in Western New York.

“There’s a lot of fallout that could happen from this,” Barnes said. “The village board must be as proactive as a governing body can be, working with the owners and operators of the mall, in an attempt to bring replacement stores to Chautauqua Mall. This will not be easy, due to the economic conditions in our area and our state.”

Trustee Dough Schutte said he wasn’t “overly surprised” to hear the news as many residents saw the closure coming. He too expressed a desire to figure out how to reinvent the business landscape and “find other ways to attract businesses and attract new types of business.”

Eric Tichy contributed to this story.