Kitchen grit caramelizes into smooth storefront opportunity for soon-to-open candy shop

The secret ingredient in Brandi Robertson’s signature sweet — a handcrafted take on her Grandmother Betty’s caramel dessert topping — isn’t found in the pantry or recipe box. Perseverance itself is the perfection within her confection, she said.

“If you are going to waste calories, it better be good,” said Robertson, who spent nearly a decade bringing her vision from a simmer to a boil — first as a retail operation in an Overland Park collective and soon a storefront in the former Bonsai Bowl restaurant at 8932 W. 95th St.

Lorellie’s Handcrafted Caramels and Chocolates is set for an early April opening.

Assorted caramels from Lorellie’s Handcrafted Caramels and Chocolates; courtesy photo

Her caramels are unlike any she’s come across, said Robertson, describing a years-long, chemistry-like experiment to craft the treat — adding just a smidgen more vanilla this time, a little less butter the next. Trying different boiling points. Tossing out batches that didn’t meet her standards.

“Real-deal grandma, not so processed, no added preservatives, just pure ingredients,” she said. “The flavor was there. I just needed to make it less syrupy.”

The soon-to-open storefront is just the latest twist in the recipe of Robertson’s life, she explained, noting the “unknowns” of entrepreneurship have been her biggest challenge. 

Boiling it down

About 14 years ago in a California home kitchen, Robertson set out to turn the flavorful family memory into a tangible candy.

Packaged candies from Lorellie’s Handcrafted Caramels and Chocolates on the shelves at the Painted Tree Boutiques in Overland Park; photo by Joyce Smith

The mother of three was a full-time volunteer in the Los Angeles Unified School District and would bring the caramels to share in the teachers’ lounge, for PTA bake sales, and charter school fundraisers, as well as birthday parties with her friend group. 

In 2018, the family relocated to the Kansas City area so they could be caregivers to her in-laws. Her husband Mark grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and Prairie Village.

Four years later, Mark encouraged her to sell her caramels at the then new Painted Tree Boutiques in Overland Park, a collective of local vendors.

Robertson called it Lorellie’s — after her mother-in-law, Loralee, and her mother, Ellie. 

It was mostly a home-based business but she would rent a commercial kitchen as needed. She only had a small hurdle: finding the right size of boxes from wholesalers since most caramels are square; hers are rectangular. 

J&J Printing in Lenexa designed and continues to print her logos.

Robertson slowly added items to her lineup.

“I branched out when I got comfortable and got a following. Peanut Butter Bombs, different flavors of caramels, such as butterscotch, and then waffle cone cookie sandwiches,” she said.

But for the business to continue to grow, she had to get out of her kitchen.

Brandi Robertson stands inside her new Lorellie’s Handcrafted Caramels and Chocolates candy shop at at 8932 W. 95th St. in Overland Park; photo by Joyce Smith

Turning up the heat

Robertson looked at several spaces over the next few years. One center wanted $6,000 a month for a 1,000-square-foot space. At another, she didn’t get a good vibe from the landlord.

With the 95th and Antioch site where she’ll open this spring, she said, the landlord made sure she wouldn’t be selling pastries that would compete with his existing bakery tenant.

“He was looking out for them, so I knew he would look out for me,” Robertson said. “If I add something seasonal, I don’t want to step on their toes so I will go down and talk to them.”

After gutting the restaurant space, her contractors brought the electrical system up to current standards, and put in easy-to-clean ceiling tiles, along with other upgrades, she said.

“My biggest fears were to be to the point of opening and we needed to do something else,” Robertson said, her concerns turning to the ins and outs of business itself. 

She had to learn about setting up an LLC, workmen’s comp, POS equipment, and health code regulations for employees.

Robertson considered having a no-cash operation until a social media marketer told her that many young people deposit their paycheck and keep disposable income for that week in cash as a budgeting technique, instead of whipping out their credit cards on a whim. 

She’s put together an expert support team of local companies, while she focuses on her expertise — confectioner.

A rendering of the new Lorellie’s Handcrafted Caramels and Chocolates candy shop at at 8932 W. 95th St. in Overland Park; rendering by Clockwork Architecture + Design

“The layout is intentionally minimalist, yet comfortable in its focus, ensuring the chocolates and caramels remain the focal point while the environment works quietly to elevate the overall customer experience,” said Quincy Munsell, a designer with Kansas City’s Clockwork Architecture + Design, in a statement. “Every design choice serves a single purpose: to create an inviting atmosphere where the architecture recedes, allowing her artisanal chocolates to take center stage as the true protagonist of the space.”

But as with her grandmother’s recipe, Robertson felt free to add some tweaks.

“I pretty much followed the design team,” she said. “But they wanted all the same shelving. I don’t want it to feel like I’m shopping for eyeglasses.”

Robertson snapped up a large antique hutch at a Prairie Village estate sale to add some warmth to the space. The drawers will be left open and stocked with nostalgic candy from other vendors — maybe even her husband’s favorite Cherry Mash from St. Joseph, Missouri.

Allergic to nuts, not risk

Lorellie’s own products will include the signature caramels, caramels with nuts, chocolate-covered caramels, butterscotch caramels, Peanut Butter Bombs (glorified peanut butter balls with Rice Krispies); coconut cream chocolates; peppermint patties; cookies of the day; artisan bars (perhaps a half white chocolate, half dark chocolate with dried Bing cherries and pretzels); coconut macarons; Nutty Nougat and Caramel Chocolates (similar to Snickers); ganache truffles; candied popcorn; and more.

(Robertson is allergic to nuts, so must rely on other taste testers for those products.)

Confections from Lorellie’s Handcrafted Caramels and Chocolates on the shelves at the Painted Tree Boutiques in Overland Park; photo by Joyce Smith

Ribbons on her candy boxes will change colors by the season. She’ll also sell seasonal treats such as peppermint bark, and waffle caramel cookies, Robertson said. 

“I’m sure the list will be fluid as I try new things,” she said. “Clients have asked me to try and recreate favorites they grew up on — toffee, peanut brittle.”

Robertson sometimes still turns to her grandmother’s recipe box as a starting point, and recently came up with a new butter toffee peanut brittle. It will debut at the new store, if not at the Painted Tree Boutiques before then.

Shop hours are tentatively set from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. 

She also plans to keep her booth in the Painted Tree Boutiques to be more convenient to her south Johnson County customers. 

And she’s still boxing candy for corporate events with ribbons in the client’s company colors and can even add their logos. (The new shop will have enough production space to service those accounts, as well as to support additional retail locations she may open in the future.)

If Robertson could open her new Overland Park shop tomorrow, she would, she said. Her home resembles a warehouse with boxes of supplies stacked in the dining room, entryway, living room, and basement, the budding entrepreneur explained. 

But there’s still some final construction to be done, then inspections to pass.

“I turn 50 this year and if candy is going to be stressing me out, that’s a really bad sign,” Robertson said as she calmly looked over her future retail space this week. “I feel very confident. Neighbors want to come in and unpack boxes. Everyone’s been rooting for me.”

Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.

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