Longtime local baker opening storefront in downtown Tomah

Cheryl Hentz

Contributor

September 16, 2024

TOMAH – Things in life often have a way of coming full circle.

Lauren Haws, owner of Superior Sweets, said that’s exactly what’s happening with her bakery.

During most of her 15 years in business, Haws said she has operated the bakery from her home.

The bakery had its own storefront for a bit more than two years, but Haws said when she became pregnant with her youngest child, she closed the storefront and moved the business back to her home again.     

“I figured since I was going to be at home with my daughter and was saving money on daycare, I might as well make some money at the same time,” she said. “So I opened a daycare from my home, and I also ran my bakery business from home, doing all my baking at night.”

Now that her daughter is older and in school full-time, Haws said she has decided it’s time to open a storefront again – something she plans to do in the next month or so.

“I just can’t keep up with the demand in a standard oven anymore,” she said. “I’m starting to turn people away because I just can’t fit any more in.”

In anticipation of the upcoming move, Haws, 45, said she established Superior Sweets as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) in May, secured a location at 1401 Superior Ave. in downtown Tomah and is currently in the process of doing renovations to the place. 

Tragedy strikes, soon followed by Lady Luck

Haws said the 1401 Superior Ave. location is the second she has secured since deciding earlier this year to move back to a storefront. 

She said she found a different place on Superior Avenue, signed a lease in mid-February and took over occupancy June 1.

However, just one week later, Haws said, some combustibles in a neighboring business exploded, leading to a massive fire that destroyed five business spaces in all – forcing the condemnation of three of them, one of which was the space Haws had just rented. 

“Thankfully, I hadn’t moved any of my stuff in there yet,” she said. “I was just in the process of making all the arrangements to move in and get started.”

Not ready to give up, Haws said she immediately began the search for another place but wasn’t having much luck.

“I looked and looked and none of the spaces I looked at would work – and the ones that would work were super expensive that I couldn’t justify it,” she said. “It would make more sense to just stay working from home.”

Then, Haws said, it was as if fate stepped in.

“The (1401 Superior Ave. location) popped up for rent – I messaged them within an hour of their placing the ad online,” she said. “I was the first one to look at it and (took it on the spot). It is also on Superior Avenue, so it worked out nicely. I feel like this was meant to be – the space is almost perfect for what I need. Even the layout is 100 times better than what I had at the original spot. It couldn’t be any better.” 

The approximately 400-square-foot space, Haws said, offers plenty of room for all her display cases, as well as room for tables and chairs. 

Haws said she is putting in a half wall to give her decorating and sink area some separation from the rest.

There’s also a back room where the kitchen will be. 

“We’re also painting right now and getting the HVAC and the plumbing done because we have to bring lines up for the ice cream dipper wells and the handwashing stations and stuff like that,” she said. “And we’ve got to bring the plumbing up from the basement for the sinks.”

Once in the new location, Haws said she will be offering many more delectable treats than before. 

“In my previous storefront, I really only did cakes, and I had a cupcake display and sold some ice cream,” she said. “I later added soups and sandwiches. But, I didn’t offer a lot of other items, which I’m now going to have.”

The new place, Haws said, will have the custom cakes, and gourmet cupcakes daily – as well as different types of cookies, bars, brownies, turnovers, breads and cake pops to choose from.

“In addition, I will have 16 flavors of Cedar Crest ice cream, cheesecakes and pies,” she said. “People will even be able to walk in and purchase a whole cake if they want one. Before, I didn’t do any of that. And everything is made from scratch.”

Another major difference between her first storefront years ago and this new one, Haws said, is that she’ll have employees working with her – two full-time and two part-time. 

“There’s no way I could do it on my own at the level of business I’m doing now,” she said. “I did that at the last store – I was by myself, and I had my one daughter in there with me.”

With the volume she anticipates growing the business to, Haws said “it’s just not possible to run it on your own.”

“That was another part of my closing the first store – I was spending 22-23 hours at the shop a day,” she said. “I would be sleeping in my stockroom for an hour or so, then get back up and continue on. It wasn’t feasible while I was pregnant or after I had the baby. But there’s just absolutely no way to run the business at this level without help.”

‘I’ve come a long way’

Haws said how she got started in the bakery business is somewhat humorous – with it basically born out of necessity.

“My sister was getting married, and we were figuring out her budget,” she said. “She didn’t have a lot of money, and I was like a jack-of-all-trades. So, I said, ‘I can make a cake’ even though I’d never made a cake or frosting from scratch before that. But, I bought my first set of tips and made her a wedding cake.”

Haws said it wasn’t just any ol’ cake – but rather a three-tiered wedding cake, large enough to serve 250 guests. 

“I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out,” she said. “It wasn’t perfect, but it was actually pretty decent. I was one of her bridesmaids and after the wedding, I literally put on an apron and helped serve food and cut cake.”

Following her sister’s wedding, Haws said she got several inquiries, and the word started getting around after that.

“Things just really exploded after that,” she said. “It’s funny because I’d never baked before, outside of little things at home with my mom when I was younger. But my mom always used box cake mixes. I make all my cakes and frosting from scratch.”

Haws said her knack for cake decorating came only after a lot of practice and trial and error.

“It probably took me two years to learn how to make a frosting rose,” she said. “I tried every method possible, but they just kept falling over because my consistency of the frosting wasn’t right.”

Getting off on the right foot

Besides having in-store help this time, Haws said she has also taken some business management and accounting classes, developed a business plan and utilized many of the free resources available to women business owners through the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) – an organization her banker told her about.

“I’m so thankful that he did because I’d never heard of them before that,” she said. “There are courses online you can take through them. If you have a question about something, there’s always somebody (available) who can help you.”

Haws said the WWBIC can also refer folks to other organizations and resources for help.

“They are amazing and are an integral part in my being able to do this and in helping me with things I needed to accomplish to move forward,” she said. “And it’s cost me nothing. I highly recommend them to women entrepreneurs who may need a little extra help or guidance. They are more than willing and genuinely want to help.” 

Reflecting on her first storefront years ago, Haws said she doesn’t consider it a failure. 

She said the experience taught her valuable lessons – ones she’s used as stepping stones along her journey to where she is at today.

“If you don’t learn anything from an experience like that, that’s a failure,” she said. “But when you learn something you can later put to use, that’s just part of life and growing as a business owner. That can never be considered a failure.”

Haws said her immediate plans are to take things in a natural progression to ensure a smooth-running, successful storefront – as well as establishing Superior Sweets as a family-friendly place to go for a treat or to celebrate something special.

For special orders, Haws said she asks for a minimum of two weeks’ notice.

“I anticipate being very busy once the shop opens, and I will need that much time,” she said. “Of course, as much advance notice as possible is always appreciated.”

Haws said she also plans to continue teaching cake decorating classes in the new space in the evenings – something she’s had to cut back on when running the bakery from her home because she simply didn’t have the space.  

“Eventually, I’ll offer cake decorating supplies for sale, too,” she said. “We don’t have a cake decorating store in town, so if I need something and Walmart doesn’t have it, and I couldn’t get it here in time by ordering it, I’d have to go up to La Crosse and pray to God they had it there. So, I want to offer supplies for sale so other decorators will be able to get what they need, as well.”    

There’s more to the name

Haws said some people think she calls herself Superior Sweets because she’s going to be located on Superior Avenue, or that she perhaps sought a space on Superior Avenue because of the business name.

Neither, she said, is the case. 

“I came up with Superior Sweets when I first started the business because ‘superior’ meant ‘better,’” she said. 

The fact that it’s on Superior Avenue, Haws said – well that’s just icing on the cake.

For more, check out Superior Sweets on Facebook.