The Fresh Market announced this week that its three California stores will close by the end of the month, including the Santa Barbara location on Milpas Street.

The company plans to focus development in the eastern United States and completely withdraw from the California market, which means shuttering the stores in Santa Barbara, Palo Alto and Laguna Hills, according to a statement.

Santa Barbara’s store at 222 N. Milpas St. opened in December 2013 at the site of the former Scolari’s market. It was the company’s fifth California store but in March 2014, Fresh Market closed three stores in Sacramento.

In the company’s fourth quarter financial report, it revealed that California operations resulted in a $4.8-million loss for fiscal year 2014 and with the closures, the company expects another $20-26-million loss from lease liabilities, severance and other costs.

All three stores will close to customers by March 31.

— Noozhawk news editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.