A cult Melbourne bakery is set to close in August, after copping a battering throughout the past two years.

Owner of North Melbourne’s Beatrix Bakes, Natalie Paull, announced the beloved cakery, which became a household name after the release of its cookbook in 202o, couldn’t survive following the stress of the pandemic.

“While I adore my shop and have always had supportive and wonderful team around me, I run this cake house as a solo owner … and I think I need a hard beak after 12 years,” Paull said in a social media post.

However, this isn’t the end.

“Endings usually happen like a wall being thrown on our road out of nowhere. And you have no choice but to swerve or collide,” she said.

“But sometimes you get to drive your car to a nice lookout, turn the engine off (eat a chicken sandwich and sip a cup of tea from the thermos) and look so very proudly at where you are, how you got there and have a break from concentrating on the road. This is me doing just that. Just stopping for a moment.”

The tiny Queensberry St store is well-known locally for its long queues for its takeaway baked goods and coffee.