Apple Annie’s bakery changes hands

A longtime fan of Wilmington’s Apple Annie’s has purchased the 29-year-old bakery, where he plans to make improvements but honor the shop’s tradition.

Rob Cooley on March 11 bought Apple Annie’s, which has locations at 837 S. Kerr Ave. and in Landfall Shopping Center, 1319 Military Cutoff Road.

Most of the kitchen and retail staff remain at the bakeries, which will continue to offer Apple Annie’s signature Italian-American style, Cooley said. 

Pilot House gives sneak peek of new menu

Closed for renovations since Jan. 1, part of downtown Wilmington’s Pilot House restaurant recently reopened with tastes of its new menu.

The main dining room won’t be back in business until mid-May, but a bar sporting new furniture, fresh white paint and unobstructed views was scheduled to start serving customers in early April.

Debuting menu items before the main dining room reopens will give the Pilot House team a chance to hear feedback from customers, said the restaurant’s assistant general manager Sunni Holley. The “grand reopening” will coincide with Pilot House’s 35th birthday.

9 to open in former Crow Hill spot with doughnuts, tapas

When a sign depicting the number nine went up recently at 9 S. Front Street, restaurateur Matt Schuler finally confirmed rumors that he was planning a doughnut bakery, tapas menu and live jazz music in the location, which once housed a bakery and the late, hip, Mediterranean-themed restaurant Caffe Phoenix.

Doughnut and tapas sales have been rising for the past several years. The trend fits Schuler’s breakfast and dinner plan at the restaurant, named 9, which is set to open in late April. 

Mornings will begin with classic and creative doughnut flavors (breads and pastries are due later) baked fresh in house, Schuler said. Potato cake doughnuts and yeast-raised doughnuts will range from glazed plain, chocolate and blueberry to offbeat choices that head baker Gaeten Lowrie said were still under development. The restaurant will close from around 1-4 p.m. to prepare for evening tapas service.  

La Gemma, Sugar on Front abandon retail setups

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. Sugar on Front also recently 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 to place orders and register for upcoming cooking classes.

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. It will be renamed Sugar Island. 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.

Oceanic pier reopens for dining

The Oceanic restaurant in Wrightsville Beach on March 28 reopened much of its pier for outdoor dining.

Tables accommodating about 70 guests fill the pier, and more are coming along with awnings by mid-May, said Mindy Stroupe, spokeswoman for LM Restaurants, which owns Oceanic.

“The final piece of the pier reconstruction project – the public fishing pier – should be finished by June,” Stroupe said.

The Crystal Pier area hosted Luna Pier in the 1950s. Crystal Pier suffered damage during storms in the 1990s.