Woman brought Door County's charm to the suburbs
Judith Ann "Judi" Doman found an enduring market for the hand-dipped chocolates and old-fashioned country charm of Door County, using it to build a chain of 16 stores.
Mrs. Doman, the founder of Door County Confectionery and mastermind behind its entry into suburban malls, died Sunday from complications of a rare form of sarcoma. The 32-year resident of Inverness was 69.
At one time, Mrs. Doman and her confectionery stores could be found at locations including Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg, Stratford Square in Bloomingdale, Oakbrook Center and Palatine Center, as well as shops in Door County and the Milwaukee area. In fact, last fall it was her Door County Confectionery store that was the last to close when the mall at Randhurst Shopping Center in Mount Prospect was closed for rebuilding as a lifestyle center.
Mrs. Doman started the family-operated business in 1972 as a hobby, when her husband began developing old cottages into small shops in a development now known as Founder's Square in the town of Fish Creek in Door County, Wis.
She grew up in Arlington Heights, the daughter of Ralph Clabaugh, former superintendent of Arlington Heights Elementary District 25. Her mother, Ruth, was an active volunteer at Northwest Community Hospital, and was the first woman appointed to its board of directors.
Upon earning her education degree at the University of Indiana, Mrs. Doman taught for five years during her early married life. However, once she had children, she stayed home to raise them.
"She wanted to start a business, and a candy store seemed like an easy way to start," says her husband of 46 years, Greg. "She was very creative and decorated the shop to look like an old-fashioned candy store."
Working with her daughter, Ericka, Mrs. Doman decorated successive shops like the original, using antique furniture taken from the cottages. Store landmarks included vintage bathtubs with claw feet, painted red and filled with saltwater taffy.
Top sellers have remained constant over the years, family member say, pointing to its handmade fudge, Bear Claws (also known as turtles) and unusually shaped hand-dipped chocolates.
Increasingly, the shops began to include gifts, including teddy bears and Beanie Babies. In fact, from 1998 to 2000, Door County Confectionery was the top seller of the plush toys made by Westmont-based Ty Inc.
"We had the rights over other Chicago area stores, and so we'd have lines of people waiting for the latest one," says Kurt Doman, who worked in the business with his mother before taking it over in 2001. "The Woodfield store especially was pretty crazy, and our warehouse in Schaumburg was filled with them. Every three days we'd get 50 to 100 more boxes."
In recent years, Door County Confectionery officials have phased out their mall locations, and are concentrating more on the Wisconsin shops. However, they now provide their chocolates to 150 stores, and continue to draw interest in their online and mail order sales.
Besides her husband and son, Mrs. Doman is survived by her son, J. Gregor (Karen) Doman Jr. of Toronto, and daughter Ericka (Michael) Arbour of Inverness; as well as eight grandchildren.
Visitation will take place from 3-9 p.m. today at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Highway in Palatine, before a 10 a.m. funeral service on Friday at First United Methodist Church, 1903 E. Euclid Ave. in Arlington Heights.