After 18 months of operating at a loss, E.W. James and Sons Supermarket on Scottsville Road is closing in four weeks, leaving 50 employees to look for new jobs, and several customers flabbergasted.

E.W. James acquired the location at 1640 Scottsville Road in October 2004.

The closing is a business decision, according to Ken Pink, chief operating officer for E.W. James and Sons Supermarket.

&#8220It’s pretty easy; we’ve been in the store 18 months, and we didn’t see any move toward profitability,” he said.

Pink said the loss was &#8220substantial” but would not specify the amount.

After the company’s earnings quarter ended on March 31, company officials examined financial statements, evaluated where the store stood and made the decision Friday to close.

Managers at the local supermarket were notified at 9 a.m. Monday. All, including main manager Jimmy Winchester, refused comment and referred all questions to Pink.

A sign indicates the new store hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

The sign also notified customers of the supermarket’s pharmacy that prescription files have been sold to CDS No. 10 Pharmacy at 1308 Ashley Circle.

Pink said the truncated store hours will allow existing employees to look for new jobs.

&#8220We do (shorten the store hours) when we’re closing. (Employees) need an opportunity to look for other positions,” Pink said. &#8220We try to shorten the store hours so they can find another job.

&#8220We were surprised we couldn’t make more of an impact in the community,” Pink said.

The E.W. James and Sons Supermarket in Glasgow closed last year.

&#8220Glasgow was doing real well until the Wal-Mart Supercenter was opened,” Pink said.

The store in Glasgow lost 40 percent of its business to Wal-Mart, Pink said.

Customers like Charles Wainright, a professor of Healthcare Administration at WKU, were completely surprised this morning when the store didn’t open at its normal time at 7 a.m.

&#8220I’m sad because I like competition,” Wainright said.

Wainright’s 17-year-old daughter is one of the 50 employees who will have to look for a new job.

E.W. James and Sons Supermarket started operations in 1934, when E.W. James bought a small grocery store in Hickman.

The company has 34 stores in four states and around 2,000 associates, according to the Web site for the supermarket chain.

E.W. James and Sons locations remaining in Kentucky include Elizabethtown, Hickman, Lexington, Princeton and Richmond.