Two Wilmington bakeries have dropped their retail sides but continue sales at area farmers markets, via special orders and to wholesale customers.

After four years in business, La Gemma Fine Italian Pastries ceased retail sales March 31 at its 2323 S. 17th St. store near New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Last week, Sugar on Front closed its spot inside Old Books on Front Street, 249 N. Front St.

“Our family circumstances have changed requiring us to spend more time with our young children,” said Roberta Campani, who owns La Gemma with her husband, Jim Gannon.

La Gemma is for sale, but Campani continues to bake there, and customers may still call the shop at 338-1885 to place orders and register for upcoming cooking classes, Campani said.

Also find La Gemma at downtown Wilmington’s Saturday Riverfront Farmers Market, which opened March 30; the Wednesday Poplar Grove Plantation farmers market, which begins its season April 3; and the Saturday Carolina Beach farmers market, which starts May 11.

Campani is offering the bakery’s most popular items, including rainbow cookies and gluten-free selections, as well as new savory items such as quiche and roasted tomato tarts. Keep up with the menu at La Gemma’s Facebook page.

La Gemma also takes wholesale orders for restaurants, food markets and other establishments in need of baked goods.

A burgeoning wholesale business convinced Sugar on Front owner Samantha Smith to move her 3-year-old operation to the former A Sweet Life bakery, 206 N. Topsail Drive, Surf City. Old Books on Front owner Gwenyfar Rohler said she and the Old Books staff were considering what to do next with the vacant Sugar café space.

“I’m not sure when we’re going to open for retail or if that’s going to happen,” Smith said of her fresh digs, noting that developing a wholesale market has been her focus since launching Sugar “because it’s a more predictable income … a steady backbone.”

Smith’s new name for the bakery is Sugar Island. Find the bakery’s sweet and savory items at Wilmington’s Pine Valley Market and in the near future at Pomegranate Books; Wrightsville Beach’s Blockade Runner Resort; Burgaw’s Brown Dog Coffee; Topsail Island’s Bumble Bee Market; and the Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach farmers markets. Smith also handles custom cake orders for weddings and other events. Call 254-1110.