Bert Lehman
Nine months ago New London’s Laura Wolfgram made a life-changing decision.
She resigned from the banking industry after almost 20 years in order to start her own business, Laura’s Confection Connection.
Wolfgram described Laura’s Confection Connection as a “specialty dessert shop.” Items available include: homemade chocolates, individual cheesecakes, basic coffee, specialty teas, coffee cakes, and specialty bars, just to name a few.
“Everything that you buy here is made here,” Wolfgram said. “There is nothing that is shipped in and then repackaged. I don’t buy things in bulk and then repackage them. Anything being sold out of here is being made here. That’s the biggest thing. And I make everything from scratch.”
Owning a business like this has been Wolfgram’s goal for years. It was her 91 year old grandmother who gave her the inspiration.
“There’s a huge generation gap between the two of us but I learned from the best which is starting all of your foods from scratch and making it that way instead of buying all of these things that are prepackaged, processed or have so many preservatives in,” Wolfgram said.
Finding the right location was difficult. That wasn’t an issue anymore when her husband’s aunt and uncle, who own the building the business is in, announced last May that they were going to retire.
“I knew this was the perfect building,” Wolfgram said. “This building really fit the upscale of my food, of where I wanted to be. The whole décor in here, the location is perfect.
The business is located at 515 Fremont Street in New London. Wolfgram said since it is located in a somewhat secluded area, it helps with private parties. A private party up to 65 people can be held at the location. During the summer months, an outside, fenced courtyard will also be available.
Wolfgram said the location is perfect for small weddings, bridal showers, baby showers and birthday parties.
Wolfgram resigned from her banking job as an assistant vice president of residential lending last July, but Laura’s Confection Connection didn’t officially open until Dec. 18, 2013.
“I was licensed that day and opened that day,” she said.
In the five months between her resignation and the official opening of the business, Wolfgram said she was busy getting everything in order. This included having the building inspected, creating an LLC and getting the packaging of the products finalized.
“I had been making candy for almost 15 years for the holidays for my family and friends,” Wolfgram said. “I needed to figure out price-wise how I was going to do this. I experimented with some new flavors that I had never done before.”
Even though it had been a goal of hers to open this type of business, she said it was a difficult decision to leave her fulltime job to make her dream a reality.
“It was an entire family decision,” she said.
She and her husband have two children.
“It was a big step. Everybody was scared,” Wolfgram said. “To give up the income I was making was a big, huge step. To let go of that income, and to let go of that security, it was a huge, huge decision. I think it was scary for my family but once we got into everything and they see how much of a need there is for something like this in the community everybody feels more comfortable.”
Wolfgram said her family helps with the business.
She also said the community and surrounding communities have been supportive.
She has applied for a liquor license, and in the future, plans to host wine and beer tasting events a couple of times a month.
“I don’t want to be a bar, but I want to offer something that I don’t feel the community of New London has,” Wolfgram said. “I feel the community really needs something like this. So many people have to go to Appleton or go up to Door County, and we can do something special like that right here.”