Liscio’s Italian Bakery, Glassboro, NJ, specializes in supplying sandwich shops and foodservice ­operations, but it also has in-store supermarket and retail bakery accounts. And three of these ­retail shops carry the Liscio’s name. All are within six miles of the wholesale bakery, and all include deli sandwich operations.

“We treat our retail shops like any other account,” explained Chad Vilotti, the bakery’s vice-president, “but they do give us an immediate sense of what to expect from new product introductions.”

Such feedback also comes from Liscio’s management team. “We look at the product each day, and of course, we eat it, too!” Mr. Vilotti observed.

Liscio’s newest location, adjacent to the wholesale bakery, houses the company’s pastry production unit. Laura Casaletto, general manager of the retail business, described an active specialty operation employing four bakers and four decorators. “We do cakes of all sorts, birthday to weddings and more,” she said.