Smart's Bakery sold its last pies and cakes on Wednesday afternoon after having been a fixture in Lavington's Wagga Road for decades.

Co-owners Joanne and Tony Duffy made the heartfelt decision to shutdown after it became no longer viable to keep trading.

"It's just a sad thing to happen, but it's the way of the world now, times are changing," Mr Duffy said.

Mrs Duffy, whose late father Joe Smart began the business in 1966 at a Mate Street shop in North Albury, declined to speak to The Border Mail.

On the bakery's 50^th anniversary in 2016, Mrs Duffy told of her enthusiasm for making and selling food which was inspired by her father who died last year after having lived above the store.

"I don't know anything else. I love coming to work, I never get out of bed and am not happy," she said.

"I remember the shop opened when I was six.

"I was always coming home after school to help dad make lamingtons."

Fellow Wagga Road trader Russell Mason, who has been operating a tackle shop on the strip for 23 years, expressed sorrow at seeing a fellow family enterprise end.

"It's sad to see an iconic business like that disappear," Mr Mason said.

"It's just a sign of the times, if you're not in the right spot and haven't got the parking you miss out."

Ai Group regional manager Tim Farrah, who helps businesses, said bigger firms had hurt shops like Smart's.

"Smaller retailers over the last 20 years have really struggled against the chains and supermarkets, who have moved into baking on-site, and the move away from the corner store has made it really hard on those single rural operators," Mr Farrah said.

"Smart's would have been patronised by generations of Albury people and it's sad to see it go."

Wagga Road saw trade decline after the opening of the Hume freeway bypass in 2007 and the closure of businesses such as Grant's hardware saw it compared to a desert.

However, Mr Mason noted there had been some bright spots with the council beautifying the median strip and the opening of Petfocus Vetcare on the corner of Kaylock Road.

The council-backed beautification north of Kaylock Road is yet to begin.