Smiths supermarkets, once a cornerstone of America’s food supply, have been closing their doors in the face of rising prices.

The company announced Thursday that its supermarket stores are closing in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York City, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and that the closing is expected to be complete by the end of September.

The closure of Smiths stores comes at a time when the company is struggling to maintain profitability amid a downturn in grocery sales.

The retailer reported that it has been unable to maintain its pre-tax earnings in the second quarter and a year, while its net income fell to $2.3 billion from $2,879 million.

On Thursday, the company said that it is closing the retail stores in New Jersey and Connecticut, but is considering relocating stores to other states.

It is closing stores in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia, according to a company statement.

The chain also announced plans to shut down a store in Kansas City, Missouri.

Smiths has been trying to close stores for several years, but with the cost of goods and labor at record highs, it has struggled to compete with cheaper competitors like Kroger and Costco.

The chains’ CEO, Paul Smith, has said the company has not seen a big uptick in customers during the downturn, but many customers have returned to stores.

In the past two years, the stock has risen more than 13 percent, according of Yahoo Finance.