Kenai lost a major employer Monday with the closing overnight of the Lowe's home improvement store less than three years after it opened.

Mayor Pat Porter blamed the economy and called the situation "a huge loss."

"The recession is probably what has done this," she said as she headed to meet with the city manager to discuss the closure. "As soon as they built this store the bottom fell out nationally, including the housing market."

The Kenai store was one of seven nationwide that was closed overnight, according to Lowe's Cos. spokeswoman Stacey Lentz. She said despite the hard work of employees the 94,000-square-foot Kenai location never met sales expectations.

A phone call placed to the store Monday was answered by a recorded voice saying, "We are sorry but this location is permanently closed," and directing customers to the company's next-closest stores in Anchorage.