Friday afternoon, Dec. 27, the Caper’s Deli wine room was half empty, shelves were nearly bare and the kitchen equipment had been pulled out for an overhaul cleaning.

“Can I talk and sweep at the same time,” owner of six years Stacy Laird asked.

About a week before Christmas, Laird announced she had sold the business and would close it Dec. 24. 

“I kind of toyed with the idea (of selling) for a little bit … It was everything I wanted it to be. Everyone wants to see their business grow. But somebody came in and said ... ‛I'm interested,' and I thought 'This is it, Stacy, right here. You grew your baby, your baby has become this fabulous thing and maybe now's the time.'”

Laird said Caper’s became much bigger than she was able to work – 85-hour weeks excluding the business end of the deli, Laird found she couldn’t keep up even with the better part of 30 years in catering under her belt.

“I've loved every second of it, but it's not a one-person job anymore. The wine room got so big and retail got so big, and then the kitchen on top of it? The kitchen is another beast.”

Laird attached the dustpan to the broom and leaned it against the wall separating the kitchen and the thruway to the dining area. She dried her eyes with the back of her hands and continued the interview.

The buyer will not be keeping it a deli; however, Laird was nothing but positive concerning the storefront’s future. “This was my dream and now he's going to live his, so it’s going to change. He gets to come in and do what he wants to do and that's great, but like I made my announcement, he gets to make his.”

Laird said the deli filled a niche for the community, providing a place to come in and sit with a cookie and a cup of coffee, “just to get out of the house and get away. I liked that we were here for that. I enjoyed that we were here for that.”

As for Laird – there’s no telling. For a start, she said she can begin enjoying weekends again and won’t have to regret telling her girlfriends she can’t join them for an appetizer at one of the other restaurants in town. While she looks forward to moving on to “smaller and better” things, she’s also excited to simply have fun and try new things.

“Food will never leave me, clearly – it will always be a part of my life … I would like to find something outside the restaurant industry that goes 9 to 5. I've done a whole bunch of different things: I've worked in a dentist's office, I have been in the school system in the special ed department, I managed Edgecomb Potters for 11 years. So, we'll see. It could be anything, and … I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easy.”

Laird said the sale was set to be finalized Jan. 1. She declined to name the buyer.