One of the things the family and I wanted to do this Summer is to explore our city a bit more. It's only been a little over a year since we've moved here and we feel like there's still a lot more places to see, do and experience.
I've heard that there was a candy store in town that is apparently comparable to See's candies. I also learned that between the months of May and September, they allow store tours for free. I thought that would be something that the kids would enjoy so on a Thursday afternoon, I drove me and the children to Patsy's candy store to see how their candies were made and of course, to get a little sampling of it. *wink*
Here are some photos of our candy factory adventure...
The tours were set at a certain time of the day. One in the morning and another one in the afternoon. I was a little worried when we came into the store a few minutes after the set time for the afternoon tour. I thought that we were so late that we wouldn't be able to go on the tour. Luckily there was a big crowd for that time slot so they ended up dividing the tourists into two groups and we made it to the later group just in time.
All tour participants were asked to wear a hair net. Marcus didn't want to wear his, but the tour guide/candy lady told him that he can't go in the factory without the hair net, and my boy obeyed.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos during the tour. I was not able to capture all of the neat machines that made taffy, caramel, popcorn and chocolate. I would have to say that it was a surprisingly interesting tour. The history of the place was fascinating. All the machines were built between 1940-70, and all of them are still in operation. Amazing.
The only thing I would do differently next time is to call ahead to see what they are making that day. Unfortunately, the old taffy and caramel production line was not being used on the day that we came. Apparently, not all machines/stations are in operation during this time since it's not the store's busy season. I would have liked to see those big taffy pull machines at work while there.
After the tour, we got to have a sample of the taffy and some caramel popcorn. It was delicious that we couldn't just leave after that. We ended up wandering the front store a little bit longer to see all of the chocolates and candies packaged and ready to eat.
Look at all of these handmade chocolates and truffles....
They even have "artisan" ones. We learned (through the tour) that the store contracts an artist that paints the chocolate eggs during Easter time. That sounds very impressive.
The price of their chocolates are a bit high. We ended up purchasing four small caramel candies and one toffee bar that cost us $3. That doesn't sound too much but I don't think our chocolate even weighed over 2 ounces. Definitely a splurge, but it was worth it. The candies were very tasty!
So that's our latest excursion. Hope you enjoyed our little review of the Patsy's candy store and tour. If you are local or planning to be in town and is looking for a tasty and educational tour of a candy factory, this is a must see. :)
Till next time,
Grace
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