SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Since November of 2020 Rebecca Riley, along with her husband, opened the bakery Peace, Love and Cupcakes in downtown Syracuse.

It was a dream come true.

Her favorite part? ” I love the way people get excited when they walk in and they can’t decide and there are so many fun flavors,” Riley explained.

Opening a business in the middle of the pandemic proved to be quite the rollercoaster ride. Two weeks after opening, Syracuse was declared an “orange zone” and the store coudn’t be open for a period of time. Her family also got covid a few times. But they are grateful for the support from community and family.

“It’s the people around us who made it possible,” Riley explained.

The bakery is closed Thursday, a day after announcing Peace, Love and Cupcakes would close for good. A number reasons factored into their decision including high food costs.

“When we opened, a case of butter was a little over a hundred dollars, I think 103 dollars. Most recently it was up to almost 160. You go through a few a week, so that’s easily sometimes a hundred to 200 dollars a week, four times a month. That’s a whole bill. That’s two weeks worth of groceries for my kids. And that’s one product.”

Rebecca Riley, Co-Owner of Peace, Love and Cupcakes

She said the city’s infrastructure challenges causing water main breaks also impacting business.

“Custom orders had to get cancelled. It was a huge hit for a small business that was barely scraping by,” Riley said.

All things considered, it was a heartbreaking, but a necessary decision.

You still have some time to enjoy Peace, Love and Cupcakes. Their last day in business is March 31.