While my family doesn’t visit me that often, we’ve done a lot around Colorado. Coming up with new ideas is sometimes a challenge. But then I remembered the Hammond Candy Factory in north Denver that doesn’t require reservations and is free so it saved my tush by not planning in advance and balanced well with the other events that had a fee. My sister was in town for 40 hours on a business trip – so we had just a little time together, and I know what you are thinking….just two adults went to a candy factory? Why didn’t I save this for when the kids were in town? I have no good reason, but I figured I’d test it out – if it was worth it, I’d go back with them.
As soon as we walked in, the smell of sugar rushed into our noses. It was so sweet; I may have heard my stomach growl. We were fortunate to go on a snowy Friday morning, so there were only about 6 other people in our tour. The tour started out by watching a video on the history of the Hammond Candy Factory and safety precautions. I found the video very interesting and informative.
When the video ended we were ushered into the factory with a Plexiglas wall dividing us from the work floor. A tour guide was here with us to answer questions and provided a little explanation on what was happening on the floor. Since there were so few of us, we had no problem seeing and had great views of the candy being on the slabs, in the stretcher, or watching the workers mold the candy colors to prepare it for the thinner rods. If it was really busy (the tours are for up to 50 people per time slot) it would have been harder to have an up close view, but they did have two grainy TVs up above that showed areas on the work floor. The tour area had two sections, the candy stretching and forming part and then the wrapping part.
When the tour was over, we got a small spiral tree shaped like broken candy cane. The door opened to the gift shop where you can see a variety of different candy they produce as well as some other non-Hammond’s candy. The gift shop is open to the public without having to take a tour. We took our time and purchased a few gifts. We also saw the President, Andrew Schuman, in the shop and I was happy to see that he remains so involved in the day to day activities.
So, would I go back? Yes, I would bring my nieces and nephews here. Some of them aren’t candy eaters, but I think they would be fascinated by the process.
Hammond’s Candy Factory Website
Location: 5735 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216
Tour Cost: FREE
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