Downtown Oxford is losing a touch of sweetness this week as a popular, longtime business will stop producing its celebrated cakes and other baked goods.

The Sweet & Savory Bake Shop, a community fixture since 2002, is closing its doors.

“It’s sad to think we won’t be Sweet & Savory anymore, but we’re happy we met all the people we did,” said Debbie Meyers, who owns and operates the 9 S. Washington St. shop with her partner Scott Eschelbach.

“We’re happy (that) we were a part of so many people’s lives and so many people’s parties and celebrations. We just couldn’t be more grateful. It’s been a good run.”

A number of factors contributed to the difficult decision to close, according to Meyers, including a proposed rent increase, the reconstruction of M-24 scheduled for 2020 and the potential loss of business stemming from it, and the fact that the bake shop had a large amount of unneeded and unused space.

“We started out trying to be everything to everybody and we’ve whittled (things) down to what works for us, (but) we could still whittle (things) down (even more),” she said. “When we look at our space here, we really use (only) a third of it. We really don’t need this size building anymore, so it’s not worth it to pay more in rent.”

Sweet & Savory will conduct a big sale on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6. It will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Equipment, fixtures and furnishings will be available.

“We intend to sell everything in the building that we’re not keeping,” Meyers said.

Just because Sweet & Savory is closing its current location, doesn’t mean that’s the end of the business.

Meyers indicated she and Eschelbach plan to take some time to “regroup and refresh” and ponder the questions, “Who are we? What do we want to do?”

She admitted they’ve looked at and are considering other potential locations in Oxford, both in and out of the downtown area.

“There’s a possibility we’ll reopen. We just can’t say that’s absolutely true today,” Meyers said. “We’re hoping to revive things, but we have to do it sensibly. We don’t just want to jump into a five-year lease somewhere (else) without regrouping and seeing what would be successful for us.”

Whether or not the Sweet & Savory Bake Shop ever rises again doesn’t change how Meyers and Eschelbach feel about this community and their last 16 years serving it.

“We’ve loved every minute in Oxford,” Meyers said. “We’re tremendously grateful for the support Oxford has always, always, always given us. We’ve been so blessed, so lucky, so well-received.”