Last Wednesday, Jennifer and Matt Sawyer were preparing to close their bakery.

It was a long road to open Sawyer's Artisan Bakery in Davenport, Wash but dwindling sales had made it clear to the couple that they weren't going to make it.

Jen says she had to swallow her pride to post a note on Facebook last week saying they would have to close by the end of the week if things didn't turn around. She says they had stopped paying their home mortgage to keep the bakery afloat and they simply ran out of money.

“I'm really great at helping others, but I suck at letting people do things for me,” she says.

When Jen posted the Facebook update at about noon, they had done about $40 in sales. Over the next four hours, customers streamed in to help. They finished the day with almost $260 in sales.

By the time virtual notes had been shared among Facebook friends and beyond, the bakery sales on Thursday and Friday were up again. On Saturday, they sold out. By the time the week was over, Sawyer's had doubled sales from the week before.

Jen says they were so grateful for the help. One woman has pledged the $20 she used to spend on her nails every other week to the bakery. People drove from Spokane and Waterville to buy breads, cakes and goodies. Other local businesses pledged support. Another customer stopped by their house to check on them and get an update on the bakery.

The support has continued this week. On Tuesday, a day they would typically sell about eight sandwiches at lunch, they had orders for 25.

Jen says they are hanging on… and with all of the community support they're hopeful that they can keep going.

Here's our story about how the bakery started.

Sawyer's Artisan Bakery is located at 508 Sixth Ave., just off the main highway through Davenport, Wash. Reach the bakery at (509) 725-1230. The bakery's website is here and the Facebook page is here.

The bakery is open 7 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday 8 a.m.- 2 p.m.

Opening a new business is never easy.

And Jennifer and Matt Sawyer stared down some serious challenges as they struggled to open their artisan bakery in Davenport, Wash. When I talked to them in August for this food section story, the bakery had been open for a little more than half the year and they were feeling like their longtime dream had finally come true.

However, Sawyer's Artisan Bakery may not celebrate its first anniversary.

“We are to the point where we haven't been paying our own mortgage,” says Jennifer Sawyer.

They announced on Facebook today that unless something dramatic happens, they'll close the bakery at the end of the week.

Jennifer Saywer says sales started to decline in September. They surveyed customers and got a lot of great feedback on their goodies, but some said prices were too high. They lowered prices, added lunch with free delivery in Davenport and tried some other fun offerings, such as decorate-at-home cookie trays at Christmas.

Matt Sawyer, who attended the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy at Spokane Community College, bakes the breads and pastries from scratch each day. They hired Belle Petty to bake and decorate the whimsical cupcakes and cakes.

Jennifer Sawyer delivers orders to people in Spokane everyday when she drives here for her job at a local real estate office.

Nothing is working.

After payroll and other expenses this week, they won't have the money to buy more supplies for the bakery. Matt Sawyer has never been paid for his work.

“I think what has been going on is basically people just forget that we're here,” Jennifer Sawyer says.

Sawyer's Artisan Bakery is located at 508 Sixth Ave., just off the main highway through Davenport, Wash. Reach the bakery at (509) 725-1230. The bakery's website is here and the Facebook page is here.

The bakery is open 7 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday 8 a.m.- 2 p.m. They'll stay open this week to honor gift cards and hoping against hope that they would get enough business to continue.

Jennifer Sawyer says they'd also like to hear from anyone interested in taking over the bakery at (509) 280-7142.