Jelly Belly Gourmet Jelly Beans are a variety of delicious candy confections that are popular in the world. Visit the stores in Pleasant Prairie, WI and Fairfield, CA for a free tour.
The Jelly Belly Center and Candy Store in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, offers free daily tours. I recently took a trip to Pleasant Prairie and I think it’s great that the educational family is organized from afar.
Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin is in Kenosha County, just north of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line. Kenosha is midway between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and TheWindy City of Chicago, making it a convenient drive from either city.
Jelly Belly is located in a building two doors down. One entrance is for visitors to the candy store, and the second entrance is for the factory tour area. Parking is available in the parking lot in front of the door.
The entrance fee is clearly marked. Entering the lobby, I was greeted by a smiling receptionist. He asked if I was there on the way, and he told me that he had just left, but that someone else would be there in about 20 minutes. He invited me to stay there or go through the Gelen Belly Store and come back. I wanted to wait there, so he dutifully got me a chair. There was a movie playing on the screen above the table. She told me that she had just started the film, but asked if I wanted to start it from the beginning. I took her offer and restarted the movie.
One of the walls of the lobby covers photos that chronicle the history of Jelly Belly The Goelitz Candy Company, over 100 years old. is family owned and operated. The lobby generates warmth and pride. There is a jelly bean portrait of President George Bush on the opposite wall.
Jelly pillow movie dyed ant variable in the plot delight of children. I can’t tell you more than that. The newcomers made the film difficult. People started coming in small groups. Each of them carried little children with them. Parents and grandparents brought the kids for Jelly Belly Tours, which is a fun way to spend an otherwise dreary afternoon.
The crowd was cheering and doing well. The wait was short enough that the children weren’t too restless.
The rope was pulled and we were ushered inside. At the entrance, everyone was given a paper hat to wear during the tour. The driver explained that FDA regulations require everyone to wear a helmet. A train with seats to ride through the barn. We are well instructed to take pictures in the loading area of the train, but pictures are not allowed on the tour. They asked for the cameras to be released as soon as the train started moving. There were several images of Jelly Bean in the loading dock area.
The train started to move and more images of Jelly Bean came into view. The train conductor told us about the Mosaic as pictures made of centuries-old jelly beans. The guide showed one of Elvis Presley, saying that it took him 20,000 beans and six months to complete the picture. The faces in the pictures were intricate and detailed, almost like oil paintings looking from afar. Images included Ronald Reagan, Buffalo Nickel, George Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Statue of Liberty, at Chicago Art Institute and more. A recent news item informed me that actor George Clooney had done one recently. Unfortunately, the gorgeous image of George, named “the sexiest man alive” by People Magazine, was not there.
I found the pictures fascinating and wanted to stay and study them for a while, but the train was moving. The leader turned his attention to some equipment across the corridor. There were television monitors with films showing the making process. Gelato Belly uses a surprising amount of sugarsugar and corn- syrup in their confections, which I didn’t want to think too much about. .
Gelatin Jelly beans of war’s flavor. The gourmet jelly bean was born in Los Angeles in 1976. When President Ronald Reagan introduced them to the White House, they became an instant sensation.
Goelitz started as a German candy maker. The company started by making Kettle Korn Candies. Goelitz Jelly Belly manufactures over 50 flavors of Jelly Bellys, taffy, chocolate confections and more. The candy making process was demonstrated with visuals and explanations from the train conductor.
The price was a train ride around a huge, square warehouse. Crates were stacked neatly on shelves in clean spike and span warehouses. While this was called a factory tour, we didn’t see the actual products. The price consisted of the remote and the controller. Large, candy-coated jelly beans are suspended from the ceiling. The journey moved rather quickly and we soon took the last turn, past the jelly bean dancing.
Thank you for letting us go. I stopped so I could take pictures of the Jelly Bean Image before it left. As we walked out the door, everyone was given a thank you gift of Jelly Belly. We walked straight into a spacious retail store with shelves and displays of candy confections. There were retail candies and special outlet The Sample Bar samples of candies scattered to the crowd of waiting people. . I bought the best buys in the store, which were Belly Flops. The unfinished candles were selling four 2.5 pound bags of various candles for $10.
The Goelitz Jelly Belly Factory Tour and Store is fun and makes for a terrific outlet for parents with children. I did not have children, and I also found it interesting.
Tours run daily from 9 am to 4 pm.
Belly Gelatos are made OU Kosher.
Goelitz Jelly Belly is located at 10100 Jelly Belly Lane in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. This is the section of Route 165 and Route 31, east of I-94. Prime Outlet is located on Lakeview Parkway at I-94 and 165.
Tours are also available at Corporate Headquarters: Jelly Belly Company, Jelly Belly Lane, Fairfield, California.
