Choc Champ Goody’s New Location Hosts Tastebud Tickling Factory Tours
Confectionary connoisseurs are in for a treat after local chocolate and ice cream legend Goody’s unveiled its new Bend facility, offering curious candy fans the chance to get a glimpse of the inner workings of a real life Willy Wonka-style world in the shape of daily factory tours.
The latest flagship location at the intersection of SE Reed Market Road and Division Street in Scandia Square, a block off Highway 97, is something of a different flavor for the family-run firm, with manufacturing, a retail store, office and warehousing all under one roof. A sweet story is also told in one area of the store devoted to a museum highlighting the history of the most mouthwatering ingredients.
Jvon Danforth, who owns the company along with husband Dane, said, “We took a little different path on this because we thought it would be cool for us be able to share our process with the public in seeing us make chocolate and ice cream with the tour part of the facility; along with the museum that has an educational element with the history of the products.
“And then, of course, we also have self serve candy and our ice cream, fudge, chocolate and caramel corn.
“This new location is around 6,000 square feet, which is quite a step up from our former factory in South East Bend, which was only around 1,110 square feet.
“But we needed more kitchen space to meet production demands for our outlets and it has allowed us to transform the facility from a place where candy and ice cream are made, into an appealing tourist attraction where visitors can see the entire process from start to finish.”
TOUR THE FACILITY
Tours are offered for $2, which includes samples of delicious ice cream, chocolate and candies. During the 20-minute session, Goody’s guides show the real working factory where over 100 different sweet treats are hand made, including gourmet chocolates, caramel corn, fudge, peanut brittle, toffee, and the firm’s famous ice cream.
The local flavor is enhanced by use of Central Oregon-based Eberhard’s dairy products in Goody’s processes, including a higher percentage of cream poured into the signature line of ice cream compared to many competitors.
During our visit, tour guide Ashley Pennington explained that Goody’s uses all natural ingredients and gluten-free products.
She added, “We are always experimenting with flavors and, for example, have 30 different fudges as well as a range of toppings, fillings and ice creams.
“It’s more art than science, and you can see how much care is taken in the creative process and hand making and hand wrapping our products.”
Appetites are certainly whetted during the whistle-stop tour, where visitors see traditional copper kettles, chocolate double broilers, creamers, truffle mixers, chocolate “waterfalls”, mini “trampolines” (to shake off excess), coating “enrobers”, cooling tunnels and proprietary molds as part of the process.
Making all the products by hand takes a great degree of skill and care, especially in the delicate realm of temperature control and tempering – and, for example, the caramel used in products such as Goody’s famous caramel corn burns as easily as a pale Englishman in the High Desert summer sun…
Special exhibits in the retail area of the new hot spot also include a display wall created by “chocolateers” depicting Goody’s range of gourmet chocolate styles in the form of oversized polystyrene models.
ORIGINS OF CHOCOLATE
Danforth expanded on the origins of chocolate by showing a cacao plant (pronounced ca-cow) exhibited in the museum, which is the source of the sweet treat.
The Latin name for the plant is Theobroma cacao, which is somewhat appropriate as its translation is “food of the gods.”
The plant is believed to have originated in the Amazon area of South America at least 4,000 years ago. The Aztecs and other native groups made a bitter tasting drink from the roasted beans. The Incas also used the seeds as currency. Most of today’s commercial production is in eastern Brazil in South America and the Ivory Coast and other countries of Africa.
Cacoa is an evergreen tree that grows up to 40 feet in height and is hardy only in moist, tropical climates. Each cacao plant produces 60-70 pods, which mature in about six months from bloom. The pods resemble an elongated acorn squash, about 10-14 inches long.
Each pod yields 20-40 white seeds (beans), which are fermented for several days until they develop a brown color and the chocolate flavor. The beans are then dried and shipped to processing plants. Here, the beans are cleaned, roasted and ground into a thick, dark-colored paste. This paste is the base for all chocolate and cocoa products.
The hardened paste becomes baking chocolate. If the paste is heated to high pressure, cocoa butter is extracted and the remaining cake-like mass is ground into cocoa powder. To make chocolate bars or other candy, additional cocoa butter is blended with the paste, along with sweeteners. To make white chocolate, Cocoa butter is used without the paste.
Goody’s has had a family run tradition of handmade chocolates, candies and ice cream for over a quarter of a century.
First created by Marne and Marion Palmateer in Sunriver in 1984, Goody’s Candy Store quickly became a legendary and loved Central Oregon fixture selling assorted candies purchased for resale.
Later, the Palmateers started making their own chocolate and award-winning ice cream and a manufacturing facility was launched in Bend.
Other stores followed, including down- town Bend and Boise.
Dane and Jvon Danforth purchased the company in 2007, excluding the Boise store which is owned and operated by Brett Palmateer.
The Danforth’s opened another store in Redmond in November 2007 and continue to provide the same quality products that Goody’s is renowned for – manufacturing over 20 tons of chocolate and thousands of gallons of ice cream annually.
The company has also branched out into franchising. The first venture in this direction is a new store in Prineville, with other opportunities being explored in select areas.
Goody’s corporate/factory store is located at 1111 SE Division Street. 541-385-7085, www.goodyschocolates.com.
