UPDATE, 11:45 a.m.: We just spoke with Loleta Bakery Cafe Manager Linnea Hill — daughter of Jeanne Van der Zee, stepdaughter of Peter Van der Zee — who says the business is closing due to an illness in the family. “It requires time and attention, and at this point we’re not able to keep the business thriving,” Hill said.

Asked if the family might someday reopen the bakery and cafe, Hill said it’s not out of the question, though such concerns are not at the forefront of their minds at the moment. She said the closure was a very difficult choice — something the family has been considering for a while and finally decided to do over the past week. 

“We’re so grateful for the support and patronage we’ve had,” she said. “We’ve gotten so many calls supporting us, and we want to thank the community.”

Beyond the family, which includes Linnea’s sister Taylor, the business employed about 20 people, Hill said. They’ll be eligible for unemployment and will receive letters of recommendation, she added.

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Original post:

According to a message on the business’s answering machine and left taped on the front door, the immensely popular — if controversial — Loleta Bakery has closed its doors permanently.

Here’s the message you hear when you call the bakery:

Loleta Bakery Phone Message (AUDIO)

The sudden closure is a bit of a head-scratcher. Owners Jeanne and Peter Van der Zee caused a rift in the town last year by evicting the adjacent Loleta Meat Market in order to make room for an expansion. The bakery’s website still says, “We are hard at work on our expansion and will keep you posted to its progress.”

We’ve been unable to reach the Van der Zees, but we did get a hold of Meat Market owner Pixie Setterlund, at her business’s new location more than a block away. “I’m still in awe; I just found out this morning,” Setterlund said. 

Having been forced to move out for an expansion that, it now appears, will not happen, Setterlund said, “I’m not moving again. You know what it’s like to move a house. I’m a little angry after what they put the community through.”

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