GREENSBORO, N.C. — Sedgefield Cinemas in Greensboro is closing after 29 years amid the coronavirus pandemic, The News & Record reported.

“We literally had our knees cut off. No one saw it coming,” said Daniel Kleeberg, Sedgefield’s owner.

For 18 years, Kleeberg operated Greensboro’s last discount movie theater. But when Gov. Roy Cooper issued an order last month for all nonessential businesses to close in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Kleeberg, along with all other area theater operators, closed his doors. He sent 12 employees home.

Now, those employees won’t be coming back. And neither will Kleeberg.

“This was the final nail in the coffin,” Kleeberg said. “We were trying to hang on until the summer, but there was no way at all.”