Breadsmith in Mayfaire has indefinitely closed. Owner Katherine Amadeo listed numerous factors that led her to shutter the store at 820 Town Center Drive on Nov. 8.
 
Issues cited by Amadeo included limited parking for the store, located at the corner of Town Center Drive and Monument Drive, as well as rising prices and supply chain issues.
 
“This has been a difficult year for all businesses, especially Breadsmith,” she said.
 
Relocating to a better spot in Mayfaire is an option, Amadeo noted, and she plans to decide whether Breadsmith is moving or permanently closing after the holidays.
 
The Breadsmith in Monkey Junction, which is also owned by Amadeo, remains open. However, she said she needs to see an increase in retail and wholesale accounts to keep the business “viable” in Wilmington.
 
“We would like to see our retail double and our wholesale triple to stay in the community,” Amadeo said.
 
Breadsmith is a Wisconsin-based franchise specializing in European-style artisan breads and baked goods. Each loaf of bread is shaped by hand and baked daily in a European hearthstone oven. Both Wilmington locations opened in the fall of 2019, with the Monkey Junction store serving as the main production facility where bread for both retail locations and wholesale accounts was baked each day.
 
Amadeo took over both Wilmington locations in April 2021 after buying the businesses from former franchisees Kathy and Steve Stone. Amadeo also owns a Breadsmith in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
 
Unlike the Fort Mill store, Amadeo sees more seasonal fluctuation in sales at the Wilmington stores. She noted that both retail and wholesale accounts decrease this time of year and rebound again during the busy summer season, which she said makes this “a really tough market.” Currently, Breadsmith serves about seven active wholesale accounts in the area, a number she’s working to increase to at least 20 accounts.
 
“We can customize and fill just about any bread need that a wholesaler has,” she said, adding that Breadsmith works with wholesalers to test and develop products to their specifications.
 
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