Goody’s Chocolate & Ice Cream Factory

We found ourselves in Bend needing to kill some time because the rainy weather scrapped our plans to visit the Three Sisters. I saw a pamphlet for a a free self guided tour of this chocolate factory at Bend’s visitor center and we came here without expectations. The tour was very short (less than 15 minutes) and there were a few displays with educational information. The factory is very small so keep that in mind when you plan a visit. If you come with the understanding that it’s just a place to kill time you won’t be sorely disappointed. We ended up buying 2 pieces of chocolate and a marionberry ice cream cone. If you haven’t tried marionberry ice cream I would recommend it since Goody says they’re the only place (but probably one of very few) that serves it.
Service was friendly without being overly pushy about buying things.
This is a one-​time kind of a place so we probably won’t be coming back but it’s a decent spot to wait out the rain when you’re road tripping!

This place is awesome! Icecream, chocolate and different flavored popcorn! Heaven! The place is a little dated but still worth the quick stop. Check it out if you have 10 minutes to spare.

We had high hopes but were slowly let down. We attempted to get in line for a tour but it seemed like we were the invisible family. Ended up getting our money back after we were blatantly skipped and went downtown to another candy store for our treats.

The self paced tour was a little depressing. Printer paper hung outside of the windows where the chocolate and ice cream are made, the history was neat, but could have been presented a little better. Sadly, there were no discount chocolate mistakes.
I picked up a custom mix of chocolates (9) for my Mom for Mothers Day, it was custom wrapped and $ 13.50.

It was more or less of a meh experience overall, but if you have kids, it’s worth checking out. It was certainly informative and the treats were probably worth the $ 2 anyways. It’s a small operation and it’s nice to see them flourish.

I was in Bend and looking for a family friendly place to go. I haven’t ever heard of Goody’s. I have lived in Oregon all my life and never heard of them. The tour was $ 3 per person and you get samples. The tours is about 5 minutes long and should be free in my opinion. The candy was good but not worth the money. We had fun but I would go out of my way to go again.

I was excited about the Golden Ticket. Until I realized that they kept the ticket at the start of the tour. D’oh.
While you had samples of their goodies on the tour, it was a disappointment to learn that not much was made from scratch. They ordered their ice cream base from a local creamery; they ordered guittard chocolate from a local distributor for their own bars and truffles; and the only thing that was made from scratch on site, appeared to be their fruit toppings (for the cremes and ice creams.)
It cost $ 2.00 for the tour.

Maybe it was just the company that I was with (20 preschoolers and their mothers), but the factory tour was just «ok» for me. The kids really weren’t all that interested in the «museum of chocolate» in the waiting area, but didn’t hesitate going for the wall of Jelly Bellies and candy bins. Note to self: Don’t take a preschooler to a place with a wall of easily-​accessible candy well within his reach. There were Jelly Bellies in grubby hands faster than you can say «hyperactive».
Anyhow, the kids really didn’t listen to the tour guide but loved getting the chocolate samples. For $ 2 it’s cheap entertainment on a cold day, but certainly not going to make or break your trip to Bend. So if you’re a tourist looking for a cool tour to do in Bend, you can pass on this one and hit the Deschutes Brewery on Simpson instead.
Oh, and as a side note: Goody’s Ice Cream is freakin’ spendy. Bring a lot of cashola if you plan on taking some of it home with you.

Oh, Goody!
This candy store and creamery has been a Bend area institution for almost 30 years. But, I have to admit that I haven’t always been a big fan. However, after taking their factory tour I am well on the way to more fully appreciating Goody’s charms.
Last month they moved their production across town and the new facility made it possible to offer tours. While not free, $ 2 is a deal considering you get roughly six samples of chocolate, candy and ice cream during the 20-​minute tour. Our guide was enthusiastic and gave us a nice overview of the history of the business, their products and was happy to answer any questions.
We were introduced to Goody’s two candy machines, Lucy and Ricky (in honor of the famous I Love Lucy candy episode), and got to see several different products being made. The chocolate for their products comes from Guittard in California, but all of the truffles and ice cream are made on-​site. The dairy products come from Redmond’s own Eberhard Dairy and the ice cream contains roughly 16% fat, so it is on the rich and creamy side.
While their products in general aren’t my personal favorite, the factory tour was an enjoyable way to spend an hour. A little of this (information) and a little of that (taste tests). No big pressure to purchase, but of course their factory does sell almost all of their products.