Victorian boutique, gourmet coffee, bakery, candy, more

Cheryl Hentz

Contributor

October 5, 2026

TOWN OF LITTLE SUAMICO – Fifty-year-old Paul Nelson said he describes himself as a “big kid,” with a passion for 1800s architecture.

He said he also likes “old money” opulence, retro toys such as Slinkys and miniature Rubik’s cubes, scratch-and-sniff stickers, vintage games, kazoos, whoopee cushions and nostalgic retro candies like Pixy Stix, penny candy and hard rock candy. 

Nelson said he is also a man who, for years, had a dream – a dream that would encompass a huge Christmas village, a fairytale-like wedding venue and lodging for out-of-town guests.  

He said it all started with a name and a little boutique housed within Nelson’s manufacturing plant.  

“I’ve had the name ‘Snarfinkels’ in my head for many years,” he said. “Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to build a life-size Christmas village. I love holidays and was born on Halloween, so I have a natural love of holidays – all holidays.” 

Something else Nelson said he has a passion for is the workmanship that went into homes back in the day. 

So much so, he said, he even muses that he was possibly born two centuries too late. 

“I would have loved to have been born in the 1800s when there was so much more detail and craftsmanship that went into homes, like the old Victorian homes,” he said. “I absolutely love those to death – the gingerbread or all the other kinds of adornments on the outside – and then inside, they have all the fancy woodwork on the staircases and so forth. You don’t find that high-quality craftsmanship and woodworking in homes anymore.”

Present, future plans for Snarfinkels

Nelson said he loves all kinds of construction and unique architecture. 

One only needs to look at the exterior of his Vintage Works small custom engineering and manufacturing plant to see that. 

In business since 2009, Nelson said his castle-looking building was designed in 2019, and construction took place between 2020 and 2021. 

Soon thereafter, he said Vintage Works relocated to 5680 Executive Circle in Little Suamico, his fifth home so far. 

Of course, Nelson said he wanted to incorporate that old-time craftsmanship and detailed workmanship into the building’s design and construction. 

Near the top of the building facade is a Chinese dragon head carved out of granite, and banding that resembles dragon scales wraps around the tower. 

The building exterior is also home to a carved lion’s head and a clock tower whose clock resembles an 1800s pocket watch. 

Nelson said some of the exterior was designed by himself and his wife, Karen, along with some other local folks, while other parts were designed and made by craftspeople as far away as China – then imported from there.  

Once construction was finished, he said there was a small section of the 10,400-square-foot plant that remained unused. 

“After trying for a couple of years to figure out exactly what to do with the space, I thought the time might be right to finish the interior and bring the Snarfinkels part of my dream to life,” he said. 

The Vintage Works Emporium: Purveyors of magic and wonder

In July of this year, the couple said they opened Snarfinkels, a Victorian boutique with gourmet-brewed coffee, flavored coffees and premium coffee beans and bakery – including fresh pastries, candies, high-end truffles and other chocolates sold in small, giftable sizes.

Also available, they said, are oodles of nostalgic toys – all wrapped up in the magic of childhood and being a kid at heart, no matter one’s age. 

Additionally, with the ushering in of fall weather and the upcoming holidays, Nelson said Snarfinkels has recently started selling caramel apples. 

Visitors to the 400-square-foot Snarfinkels will find velvet, gothic damask wallpaper, ornate woodwork, a treasure map inspired by the 1980s film “The Goonies,” as well as coins and a skeleton key styled after a scene from the film.

“Visitors will also find several 19th-century letters written in French, lawn ornaments, knick-knacks, beautifully restored Victorian-style coffee grinders and plenty of other artifacts in and around every corner,” Nelson said. “People are very attracted to the velvet wallpaper, probably because it’s so rare to find these days. Growing up, my parents had one room done completely in velvet wallpaper.”

Nelson said it’s shocking to him that about 80% of the people who come into the store have to touch the wall. 

Though intriguing, he noted that if an area gets rubbed or touched a lot, the velvet can get rubbed off, damaging the wallpaper. 

“We’re thinking we might need to cut out a little piece, frame it and let people touch that, and then as it gets worn out, we can throw it out and put a new piece in the frame,” he said. 

As small an area as Snarfinkels occupies right now, Nelson said you can still probably not see everything there is to see. 

He said a person could spend as little as 15 or 20 minutes in Snarfinkels, or as much as an hour or two, if you really wanted to soak in everything the shop offers. 

“Snarfinkels is not your typical coffee shop,” he said. “We have gone out of our way to tell the public we do not serve coffee drinks like espresso or lattes. Still, some people stop by asking for those kinds of drinks and are disappointed when they can’t get them.”

Nelson said he did not realize “the ramifications of the latte crowd,” noting Snarfinkels is working to fix that. 

“The latte crowd is tearing us apart because we don’t have lattes,” he said. “We are building our own coffee truck, and maybe in six months or so from now, we’ll be able to offer those drinks. We’ll have a full food license and we can serve lattes.”

Part of that problem and miscommunication, Nelson said, came from the way Google listed the business.

He said Google had Snarfinkels listed as a coffee shop, but after back-and-forth communication with Google, the way Snarfinkels is listed was changed. 

Nelson said they also had at-length discussions with their local health department as to what they can and cannot do without a license or health permit. 

“We can sell brewed coffee – we do not need a health permit for that, as long as everything that we have is pre-packaged,” he said. “We do our own packaging of some of the chocolates and candies, and to do that without having a health permit, we have to do that in a food-certified location.”

To work around that, Nelson said they go to the bakery that makes some of their pastries to pack coffee and candies. 

“Everything we’ve done right now is to the letter of the law and health codes and what we’re allowed to do,” he said. “We have all the latte equipment, as well as all the espresso machines, equipment and grinders – basically everything we need for the coffee truck. When we get some other steps done and get our required permits, we will debut the truck.” 

Other exciting plans for the future

Nelson said a 12,000-square-foot expansion of Vintage Works is currently underway. 

He said it will include a loading dock for the manufacturing side and a much larger retail space for Snarfinkels, expanding the shop to approximately 1,000 square feet. 

The additional square footage, Nelson said, will also allow them to have a commercial kitchen and a drive-thru. 

“I had a hope and a dream but never envisioned anything like the busyness of Snarfinkels so far,” he said. “Despite zero advertising, our Facebook postings have, at times, garnered 1.5 million views, resulting in overwhelming crowds and supply shortages.”

In fact, Nelson said over Labor Day weekend, it was not uncommon to see as many as 50 people standing in line at any given time waiting to get inside. 

“There is a very small seating area outside during warmer weather,” he said. “To accommodate guests during Wisconsin winters, we are investing approximately $30,000 to convert part of the warehouse into a temporary Victorian-style indoor study.” 

Owning five acres of land directly across the street from their current location, Nelson said Snarfinkels was intended to be a test case for his long-term goal: building a life-size Charles Dickens-style Christmas village, fairy-tale wedding venue and hotel resort village. 

“I haven’t decided yet when to break ground across the street because I want to accomplish all I’m working on right now for Snarfinkels,” he said. “I credit my wife’s patience with me being able to do everything I want to do. Not too many wives would indulge their husband’s lifelong dreams to create a type of mini theme park based on his love of Christmas.” 

There is currently no website available, but Nelson said they are “very active” on Facebook. 

Snarfinkels recently expanded its hours and is now open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

“We may expand our Thursday hours to 5 p.m. in the near future,” Nelson said. 

Nelson said Snarfinkels are small, mysterious, well-dressed Victorian creatures who admire the finer things created by humanity. 

“If you ask, you’ll get to meet them when you visit the emporium,” he said.