Sweet 16th Bakery Will Close Oct. 29

Beloved — seriously, we loved it — East Nashville bakery Sweet 16th has announced that it will close its doors for good on Saturday, Oct. 29. 

The Lockeland Springs stalwart, located at the intersection of Ordway and, fittingly, 16th — has serviced the neighborhood with its simple but indulgent offerings since 2004, when owners Ellen and Dan Einstein opened up shop. It’s not an overstatement to say that the Sweet 16th breakfast sandwich is among the best meals in Nashville, but other menu items like the airy, creamy Angel Scone and the peanut-butter-and-banana Elvis Cake are similarly iconic.

But it was the Einsteins themselves that made the bakery feel like not just a great place for a brownie and quiche but also an essential element of the neighborhood. The loss of proprietor Dan Einstein on Jan. 15 was felt deeply throughout the community. Still, the announcement of the restaurant’s closure, which came via the Sweet 16th Instagram account earlier this afternoon, leaves a breakfast-sandwich-shaped hole in the city.

From that statement:

Over 18 and a half years ago, Dan and I had this crazy idea to open a bakery in East Nashville. We didn't really know what we were doing, we just knew that we wanted the business to be an integral part of our community in East Nashville. Each year that went by, we didn't know how we would continue, but somehow we did.

Dan got sick in 2012 but he pushed through every day, even after his chemo treatments. We worked very hard together to make Sweet 16th Bakery a hub in our community.

After Dan passed in January, I knew that returning to the place we built together from the ground up needed to reopen. But now, after time has passed, Dan is not by my side anymore and it has gotten very hard to continue on.

So as of October 29th, I will be closing Sweet 16th Bakery and moving on to a new chapter in my life. East Nashville is such an amazing place to live with such an amazing community. We could not have done this without your love and support for all of these years. You will always have a special place in my heart.