Three local bakery outlets will close this week as part of a companywide effort to improve the bottom line.

Interstate Bakeries Corp., parent company of John J. Nissen Baking Co, is closing its outlet stores in South Paris, Auburn and Farmington on Saturday, Sept. 18. Stores in Montville, Saco, Brewer and Abington are also closing. Six Nissen stores will remain open in Maine.

According to Mark Dirkes, senior vice president of marketing for Interstate, the Kansas City-based company initiated a program about two years ago to close its unprofitable outlet stores.

“Our company is engaged in optimizing the way we go about doing our business,” said Dirkes. “We’ve been systematically going through and looking at nonperforming (stores.).”

J.J. Nissen produces and distributes Hostess, Wonder, Drake and Dolly Madison products. It was purchased by Interstate in 1997.

Marie Hincley has worked at the Auburn store for eight years. Although she has been offered a position at a nearby Wonder Bread store, she feels bad for other employees who are being laid off.

“It’s been a good eight years for me, although I think it’s pretty sad the store is closing,” she said, noting some of the Nissen employees have been with the company for more than 30 years. Nissen employees two or three people at each outlet location.

Interstate is also closing a roll and doughnut production facility in Buffalo, N.Y., next month. A portion of that work is expected to come to Maine, where Interstate operates a large production facility in Biddeford.

Dirkes said the recent Atkins, low-carbohydrate diet craze has had an impact on its sales nationally, but the move to close unprofitable stores predates the phenomenon. He said bread, which is the most purchased grocery item in American households, has tremendous penetration.

“So when even a small portion of dieters exclude carbohydrates, it’s going to have an impact,” he said.

Interstate reported losses of $6 million during its last quarter. It records sales in the neighborhood of $4.5 billion annually, about $400 million of which comes from its outlet stores.