DEERFIELD — If you’ve driven past Bittersweet Bakery & Cafe recently, you’ve probably noticed the business appears to be closed, at least temporarily.

The cafe at 470 Greenfield Road (Routes 5 and 10) marked its six-year anniversary at the end of August and owner Laura Thiem, who has been running the business alongside one other person for the last two years, is using the milestone to take a step back and evaluate a new five-year plan. Bittersweet Bakery & Cafe is expected to reopen soon, likely in October.

Thiem, who opened the business when she was 26 years old, said the pandemic threw a wrench into her five-year business plan and she has been grinding since 2020 to keep her dream alive. With COVID-19 taking a backseat, she said right now is a natural opportunity to slow things down and determine how she wants to move forward.

“There’s going to be quite a bit of change coming,” Thiem said this week, noting she’s been considering a temporary closure “for over a year.” “I’ve been doing the same thing day-in and day-out in survival mode. … I’m just using this as a time to reboot.”

Changes, she said, are to be determined, although she expects a “new menu” and she may “change the way the cafe runs.” With limited staff — as in any service industry — Thiem said she would often be “customer-facing” for eight hours a day and then spend more time handling the business side of things later.

“It just ends up burning everybody out,” she said.

In the meantime, Bittersweet Bakery & Cafe is not sitting idly by. Thiem said she has been attending festivals around the region and she will be at Maple Valley’s Scoop at the Silos arts and crafts fair in Hadley on Saturday, Sept. 14.

“Perseverance is in my blood,” she said. “I’m super, super excited for what’s to come.”

For more information about Bittersweet Bakery & Cafe, visit its website at bittersweetbakerycafe.com or its Facebook page at facebook.com/bittersweetbakerycafe.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.