Chris Jensen announced Thursday that Jensen Guitar & Music Co. will close its Santa Maria store, located in the Albertsons shopping center on Clark Avenue in Orcutt.

Originally opened in Old Town Santa Maria in 1999, the store was relocated to its current location in 2001 to better serve its customers.

“We loved doing business in the Santa Maria Valley over the last 13 years and have developed strong relationships with the music community here, but the recession finally caught up to us,” Jensen said. “Expenses kept going up while the economy held our income down. We are particularly proud of our local store manager Mike Dougherty, along with all our employees and instructors who have given their best efforts to keep things going.”

Jensen noted that although there have been several parties interested in purchasing the store, no commitments have been made as of this date.

The Santa Maria location of Jensen Guitar & Music Co. will be open during February for lessons as usual and to sell off all existing merchandise, furniture and fixtures.

— Michele Francisco is the marketing manager for Jensen Guitar & Music Co.