South Bend Chocolate Factory & Tours — Local services in South Bend

I'm sorry to share that I cannot recommend this chocolate tour. At all. I love their chocolate, 5/5 for their chocolate and 4/5 for going to the outlet store to buy nearly perfect chocolate at a discount. But 1/5 for that horrible tour. Maybe even zero/5. Twice. Twice we have toured SBC Factory. Once at the old location, and now at the new one. And TWICE there weren't any machines running/anything to see chocolate/candy making wise. The first one they said they stopped the machines early for the day/just walked us along explaining what would be happening. We were told a new factory was opening the next year and because my kids were SO disappointed I promised we'd go again and try at the new facility. This was worse. Which is so sad. Again no machines were running any chocolate. They talked about the dipping (I think) machine right where you begin the factory tour, it wasn't on, and the shaking tables to get bubbles out, and the caramel corn bagger machine, and about packaging... and that was pretty much it. It would be zero stars except they gave out a few free samples and the tour guide was friendly. No machines running, and more money than the first time. We started the chocolate tour at 4, they took us into the factory at about 4:20 maybe, and we finished right before 5... which is when the outlet apparently closes too because we wanted to purchase some chocolate and the cashier made some comments about wanting to clock out and go home. I worked in retail and understand this, we didn't know they closed the outlet at 5pm and I suggest they leave it open longer than tour hours since tours are open until 5pm so they should really have outlet hours until 5:15 or 5:30 since you end the tour there. While the cashier was snide, I get it, and think they need to adjust those hours. Please don't spend your money on this tour. It will...

Sorry, SBCC, I feel badly giving a one star review to anyone, but the tour we took with friends yesterday was very disappointing. We toured your old facility several years ago and the price was worth what we got. We came with friends to explore what we expected to be an expanded tour since the price had increased so much! To charge $20 per adult & $15 per kid for the tour we took today was definitely a complete rip-off. We had less of a tour than we had in the old building! We would definitely NEVER recommend taking this tour for this price. It definitely is not what you would expect, which, for us, was an informative process of how your factory makes chocolates from start to finish. Our friend asked a couple of questions but the guide didn't know the answers! I know many people have shared the same type of review and I am just doing so in the hopes that another family will not waste $125 for 7 people to take a 12-minute tour, eat a chocolate-covered pretzel, a chocolate-covered dried cherry, 2 chocolate-covered dried blueberries and a chocolate bar (the chocolate bar is DELICIOUS), but SAVE YOUR MONEY and skip the tour! 😀 The self-guided "memorabilia & fact" room at the end was the best part for us as far as gaining any information! The staff was friendly throughout and there were indeed, deep discounts in the outlet store (50-80% off) but I have to second what other reviewers have said. You might just want to go and grab some discounted chocolate and leave it there. Check out Hershey's tour or Harry London's tour if you are after observing an actual, working chocolate-making factory! During our "tour" there was one lady there making molded chocolates and there were some trays of chocolates stacked in that same area, as well as a coating machine running (but not coating anything), but the rest of the factory was...

The opening day at the South Bend Chocolate Factory & Tours, featuring the debut of the Chocolate Museum, was a fascinating experience, albeit with a few minor hitches. The museum provides an educational journey through the intriguing history of chocolate, tracing its roots back to Mayan civilization, and culminates with a tour of the production facility.

Unfortunately, the factory wasn't fully operational during our visit due to ongoing configurations. This was a slight disappointment as part of the allure is seeing the chocolate-making process in action. However, the staff informed visitors it would be a few weeks until everything is operational. For those particularly interested in seeing the factory at full capacity, it might be wise to plan a visit a bit later to enjoy the complete experience.

Despite this, the visit was still very enjoyable. We were presented with Mayan cocoa symbolic chocolates as a commemorative gift for opening day, which were both delicious and a charming addition to the experience. The staff was exceptionally friendly and eager to engage with guests, answering questions and sharing insights throughout the tour.

I'm looking forward to returning to the South Bend Chocolate Factory & Tours to see the facility in full swing. The museum is well-curated and offers a deep dive into the rich history of chocolate, making it a worthwhile visit for both chocolate lovers and history...