The Belk department store at Macon Mall closed abruptly Saturday night, leaving would-be shoppers bewildered Sunday afternoon.

“I thought they weren’t closing until October,” one disappointed customer said to an employee at the door.

“We didn’t even know until yesterday,” the woman said as she referred another customer to The Shoppes at River Crossing.

The company announced in March they would shutter the mall store in early October to concentrate its efforts to the north.

Smatterings of cars clustered at the other store entrances, but parking lots surrounding Belk were vacant at about 1 p.m.

The mall, which once had six anchor stores, is down to two -- J.C. Penney and Macy’s.

--Information from The Telegraph archives contributed to this report.