LAPLACE  — Less than a year after celebrating its grand opening with much fanfare, the Krystal location at 143 Belle Terre Blvd. in LaPlace will close permanently on Sunday, according to a statement released by the franchise’s corporate office.

The Krystal Company is closing four of its six locations in Louisiana, including the one in LaPlace, according to the release.

The locations at 116 Bourbon St. in New Orleans and at 61004 Airport Road in Slidell will remain as the only Louisiana locations.

“We’re sad,” said Edward Frazier, manager of the LaPlace location. “Everybody’s got to go look for new jobs.”

Frazier said the staff is notifying customers of the impending closure.

“They’re surprised,” Frazier said. “They thought we were doing good.”

The Krystal Company’s release said, “this was a business decision and is in no way a reflection of the hard work of these locations’ management or employees.”

The LaPlace Krystal celebrated its grand opening on Dec. 19, 2015, moving into the location that was formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Before the location’s opening, Krystal officials stressed they gutted the building down to its shell, creating a total renovation — “Only thing that stayed up was the roof and the walls,” Krystal Senior Vice President of Operations Scott Gallagher said last year.

Gallagher said the restaurants typically employ three to five management staff members, then 40 to 50 employees depending on store traffic.

The 84-year-old company is noted for its small, square hamburger sliders with steamed onions.