WALLINGFORD — Elizabeth’s Bakery announced that the family-owned business will relocate from William Street to 824 East Center St., the former location of Keri’s Sweet Creations, on Oct. 1.
“We are coming to a bittersweet end after 17 years at our 13 William St. location, and we are moving to East Center Street on October 1,” the business wrote on Facebook. “We are very excited to start this new journey!”
Keri’s Sweet Creations, known for its custom cakes and desserts, closed on June 30 after five years in business, leaving the property vacant. Elizabeth Xicohtencalt, the namesake of Elizabeth’s Bakery, said the family was searching for a new location and thought the 824 E. Center St. location would be a perfect fit because of its prominence in the town, being placed within a plaza and on a main road.
“We’ve been here already for 17 years, and we weren’t really liking the one-way street,” she said. “And once we realized that Keri’s Sweet Creations is closing down, we thought it’d be a good opportunity to be on the main road.”
Antonio Xicohtencalt, Elizabeth’s father, began renting the bakery 17 years ago, rebranding the former New York Bakery that inhabited the William Street location into Elizabeth’s Bakery, naming it after his daughter. Xicohtencalt said that the family has attempted to purchase the site from the landlord but was unsuccessful because they were not looking to sell.
Elizabeth’s Bakery is known for its loaves of bread, signature desserts, Mexican goods and custom cakes, earning much notoriety in the town for nearly two decades.
Elizabeth explained that the business has received customer praise after learning about the relocation plans.
“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback,” she said. “They will come in, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, we’re glad you’re moving; it’ll be closer to us.’”
John Lopus of Wallingford, who ordered a bag of the bakery’s signature bread Wednesday, said the location change won’t affect his business and relationship with the popular storefront.
“I love their bread, and in fact, they’re going to be closer to me now,” he said.
Though the bakery is changing locations, the family said their signature recipes that have helped grow the bakery’s restaurant over the past two decades will remain the same.
Elizabeth’s brother, Arturo Xicohtencalt, said, however, though the location is smaller in square feet, customers can look forward to indoor and outdoor seating, which was absent from its William Street location since the beginning of the pandemic.
“It’s a little smaller, but it’s in a better area,” Arturo said. “Mainly, we’re trying to look for more foot traffic.”
Arturo explained that because the business plans to open its doors in early October, renovations at the new location begin as early as next week, giving the family only one month to relocate.
Arturo said that customers can expect to see specials on their products, like their signature hard rolls, for example, to celebrate the new location's grand opening.