Bainbridge Bakers is closed for now.

Late Sunday, a Facebook status posted on the Bainbridge Baking Co. Inc. (Bainbridge Bakers) page read, “Bainbridge Bakers continues to be closed for reorganization. Thank you for your support.”

The temporary closure comes after weeks of turmoil for the bakery’s owner, Mike Loudon, and the bakery’s staff. In mid-April, a bakery manager set up a GoFundMe account, claiming that $100,000 was needed to cover payroll and keep the bakery going. During that time, a second Bainbridge Bakery location closed as staff scrambled to find ways to save money.

Questions have swirled around the operations of the iconic downtown business. Staff claimed the business was suffering from a theft of funds but did not provide specifics, and the online appeal came amid allegations that Loudon had not been paying employees for their work at the Winslow business.

While some islanders eagerly assisted the bakery in its time of need, others questioned how the donations would be used and if the money would really go to pay baristas, bakers and other staff.

Two weeks later, Loudon announced that more than $8,000 in donations collected through the website would be returned. The GoFundMe donation page for Bainbridge Bakers has since been taken down.

Loudon acknowledged concerns about the fundraiser on his bakery’s Facebook page on April 22.

“Public feedback from the last week and counsel with private advisors has caused us to alter our strategy for securing the funds to meet the bakery’s obligations,” Loudon wrote.

“There has been great concern about the well-intentioned GoFundMe account, and ultimately, in the interest of creating a strong and transparent solution, I am to returning those funds to the donors now, which will be received within two to five days.”

Loudon continued: “They [the donated funds] are not enough to cover what the bakery owes and I believe, as I communicated to our staff this morning, that they deserve a comprehensive solution. I am working around the clock to raise the money and have a few viable approaches that I am pursuing with all the haste possible.”

He encouraged those who wish to support the bakery to contact him via email as “a more structured loan option” was being put together to provide a “clear remedy” to the current situation.

“Thank you, deeply, for considering to do so,” he added.