Hammond’s Candies — Restaurant in Commerce City

Like a kid in a candy store. Literally.

Sometimes on the road that beckons the best things are actually quite close to home. No need to travel thousands of miles to get to one of the sweetest places on earth. I’ll bet a lot of folks who read this blog have made the jaunt up to the Republic of Boulder to visit the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. Even more have made the pilgrimage out to Golden (“Where the West Lives!”) to partake in the serious business of brewery (as in Coors) visitation. Now, I’m as big a fan of Sleepytime Tea and Silver Bullets as the next person but if you haven’t been to a certain other factory, right here in Denver, then your Colorado must-sees education is sadly lacking.

I’ve lived in Denver since 1971 and until last Saturday I too had never made the effort to go see where one of Colorado’s finest chocolatiers and candy makers produces their delicious wares. I speak of the Hammond’s Candy Factory just off of I-25 and 58th. Since 1920 when Carl Hammond first set up shop they’ve been turning out handmade confections to delight the sweet tooth of folks young and old. And they offer free tours at the end of which they hand out free samples! As my friend Larry would say, “Good times!”. Being a Saturday when we visited there were lots of kids oohing and aahing as the cooks poured tubs of chocolate and molded giant gobs of candy into Candy Canes (‘‘tis the season) of mind-boggling assortments. One of those giant gobs weighs about 70 lbs. and produces nearly 1,000 Candy Canes. And yes, that curve of the Candy Cane is really done by hand, one at a time.

Did I mention the free samples at the end of the tour? Well, there’s more! They have a really nice, and impressively-stocked gift shop that’s fun to wander around. Seems lots of folks were doing more than just wanderin’ as the lines at the checkouts attested. But who can complain about waiting in line at a candy factory? Not me, and for good reason. I couldn’t have spoken up to complain if I had wanted to as my mouth was kinda full of the aforementioned samples. In today’s world that seems like its fraying at the edges it was very nice to indulge in a little (o.k., a lot) of sweetness made the same way it was almost a century ago.

So, if you and yours are looking for a fun escape from teas and brews, I recommend visiting the Candy Factory hiding in plain site in our own...

We found Hammond's as something to do while killing time waiting for our red-eye flight out of Denver. It's an interesting diversion for your family. Your kids will like it.

We showed up at the factory for the free tour. As it turns out, you have to make a reservation beforehand. The front desk lady told us that we could be put on a waitlist and stick around for the next scheduled tour. There were some no-shows and we were allowed to take it.

We were led in to a separate room where we all watched an engaging 10-minute history of the company. After that, we went to a corridor with glass walls that views into the factory floor. The guide was apologetic of the fact that only about two cooks were working, it being the 4th of July. The guide describes what's going on to everyone via a PA system and some wide screen TVs allow the people in the back to see as well.

This part of the tour is mildly interesting, as we saw candy canes being rolled, cut and bent by hand. Watching the process was actually kind of mesmerizing. We also saw the packaging of other Christmas candies. (To meet demand, they make Christmas candies all year long.) The tour, at this point, lasted a total of about 25 minutes.

At the end, everyone is given a large candy cane (we got cherry) and led into the gift shop. As expected, many things were overpriced, like $16 for a 13oz mason jar of fruit-flavored hard candies or a nearly $4 bar of chocolate e.g. "Pigs 'n Taters" (bacon & potato chips) or even "Chicken 'n Waffles". You'll also find candy canes of every color and flavor, including all your favorites... plus clove. Their signature candy, a 1.5 inch marshmallow coated in caramel, "Mitchell Sweet" is $1.50+, depending on the variety.

However, there are better deals to be found. A Raspberry Habanero chocolate bar was $2.50, chocolate bar with a slightly spicy raspberry jelly filling. Peanut bars which were expired for a week were only 10 CENTS at the cash register. The best deal were Mystery bags: a $7 paper bag full of candy. It wasn't bad: see my pics for what I got. Plushies and other toys are also for sale.

All-in-all, it wasn't a bad experience. Your kids will like it. Just remember to make a reservation for the tour and be prepared to dig a bit deeper into your wallet for...

We decided to stop in on a Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, we were too late for the tour. But we were glad we stopped because they recommended we have advance reservations. So we scheduled time for the next day.

We bought some treats that were reduced in price and then came back the next day for the tour. I’d say the tour runs 20-30 minutes, beginning with a 10-minute video. Since it was a Saturday, there weren’t as many people working, but we were still able to watch a number of workers making various candies.

At the end of the tour, we received a free full-size candy cane. I don’t know if they give out the same flavor after every tour, but ours were cherry. So it’s a free tour with a free treat at the end!

The tour ends back in the gift shop. We decided to buy more treats, particularly from the “oops” section in the one corner. We also found some discounted items in the hallway between the gift shop and where the tour starts. Of course, we couldn’t leave without buying some chocolate. So, yes, it’s a free tour, but be prepared to spend some money on additional candy.

The staff were super friendly and remembered us when we came back the next day. I was impressed by their service.

As for getting there, when we first went, I thought Google maps was taking us to the wrong place, but it was correct. The building sits off the road behind several other buildings, so just watch the directions on where to turn. At least one entrance had a sign, but it was small.

There’s lots of free parking around the factory.

Enjoy the factory, but be prepared to leave with a lighter wallet and maybe a...