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For kids and adults, tourists and locals, The Goo Goo Shop on Lower Broadway has always been a must-visit destination.
Open the door to the home of America’s First Combination Candy and you’re awash in its sweet aromatics. Inside, you could buy those delectable chocolate-encased clusters or other Goo Goo merchandise, take a candy-making class, and get your picture taken in front of the famed Goo Goo wall.
Yet Beth Sachan, Goo Goo’s VP of Sales and Marketing, and Laurie Spradley, VP of Operations and Brand Development, saw the opportunity to offer even more. As in, more history, more creativity, more hands-on experience. Simply put: More fun.
Pre-pandemic, the two women travelled the country, touring different chocolate and candy factories, such as Hershey’s in Pennsylvania. This helped them solidify their ideas for the redesign. Now, after a six-month, two-million-dollar makeover, those ideas have come to full realization at The Goo Goo Chocolate Co.
“We noticed that many of our customers came to the shop expecting to see a factory, which we are not,” says Sachan. “In making the transformation, we wanted to tap into our factory origins and give everyone a better sense of what goes into making a Goo Goo.”
The new concept is whimsical in Willy-Wonka spirit. Overhead are light globes that seem capped in drippy chocolate. Above, too, are metal baskets filled with Goo Goo goodies that move along a conveyor around the ceiling perimeter, as if they were on an assembly line. There are fanciful, factory-styled vats highlighting key Goo Goo ingredients (peanuts, marshmallow nougat, and caramel) along with a great kettle of melted milk chocolate, as well as playful mechanicals: buttons, knobs, and wheels that don’t do anything, but are fun to push, turn, and spin.
A large screen plays a video loop that underscores the history of the beloved candy. If you take one of the classes (there’s a fantastic classroom in the back that has been enlarged and closed off from the rest of the store’s activities) you’ll learn more about the Goo Goo story while you craft your own clusters.
Perhaps the most fun experience in the new space is the chance to design your own Goo Goo. Step up to one of several kiosks lining the wall and simply tap the screen. You’ll start by choosing the shell (Dark chocolate? White chocolate? Ruby?) Next, pick two fillings (Bourbon caramel? Peanut butter? Nutella? Marshmallow?) Finally, a trio of crunchy add-ins offers even more customized options— pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, chocolate pearls, toffee bits, pretzels, Gifford’s bacon, potato chips, assorted cereals. Your personalized order is beamed to the kitchen, where the staff swiftly assembles your premium treat.
Culinary director Michael Colón will change up some of the selections with the seasons, switching out different couvertures, caramels, and crunches. He also oversees the Chocolate Bar, for which he’s created a luscious (and rotating) array of boozy Goo Goo-inspired shakes. The Chocolate Bar also offers guests the opportunity to indulge in chocolate and wine or chocolate and whiskey pairings.
“It was important to us to increase the adult fun factor,” Sachan says, smiling. “We’ve definitely achieved that.”
(116 3rd Ave. S., 615-490-6685; googoo.com)