MASSENA - After 20 years in business the Yankee One Dollar store in Massena will be closing its doors.

“We’re closing in Massena,” said President Keith R. Flike. “We’ve been here for 20 years. It’s not that we want to, but things have been pretty bad the past few years.”

Mr. Flike attributes Wal-Mart’s move from an area across the road from the St. Lawrence Centre mall into the village as the beginning of the end for his store.

“Since Wal-Mart moved and everything shifted to the center of town, that kind of became the center of the retail universe,” he said.

In addition to the 2008 departure of Walmart from the town’s west side, Mr. Flike also noted there’s a lot more competition in Massena than there used to be.

“There’s a lot of retail in Massena,” he said. “When we opened there wasn’t so many national retailers. We’re just a regional player.”

In addition to Wal-Mart, Massena also has a Dollar Tree, another store where everything is a dollar and two other discount department stores, Dollar General and Family Dollar.

Mr. Flike said the closure of Massena’s store, which has “seven to eight” employees, will leave the chain with 27 stores across Upstate New York and Vermont.

“We really appreciate the patronage of our customers over the years, and we really hate to leave Massena,” he said, adding the chain’s store in Malone will remain open.

When asked if there were any plans to open another location in Massena, Mr. Flike said no, at least for now.

“I don’t believe so, unless things change,” he said.

Gina Berry of Massena was shopping at Yankee One Dollar Wednesday afternoon and said she was sad to hear the store was closing.

“I really liked it in there,” she said. “ I shopped there quite a bit. I always like that store.”

The closing of Yankee One Dollar will give the plaza a third vacancy, with Hannaford’s, East Wok, Angel Nails, Speed Queen Laundromat and Office Max remaining.

The store’s final day of business will be Jan. 27.

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