South Bend Chocolate Factory & Tours

My husband and I took the chocolate factory tour and were left disappointed. We sampled a chocolate-covered pretzel and a chocolate-covered cherry, but unfortunately, neither tasted very good. While we did get to see how the chocolate pretzels were made, that was the only part of the factory that appeared to be in operation. The rest of the tour mainly consisted of a brief history about the origins of chocolate with the Aztecs, which felt more like a presentation than an immersive factory experience. Save your $20.

Oh wow!!! This popcorn. It’s so good. Such high quality and tasty morsels. Every bite is different. I ordered the Peanut Butter Crunch and I highly recommend!!!!! There is chocolate coating the caramel popcorn and some peanut butter balls thrown in. The crunch is heavenly and the taste is SO FRESH!!! They packaged and shipped this and it’s done so professionally they even in the heat index of 90° nothing melted!!! So impressed. I can’t wait to visit in person. Their customer service is top notch. They truly care about their products. Well done!!

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 bare of action.

Special shout-out to Sam! We ordered chocolate online & didn't know pickup was during the week only. He made sure our order was fulfilled & fixed our mistake. Thanks to Sam, we got all the chocolate we needed for our weekend events! #GrandSlamSam

The factory and store is really nice. The $20 fee for the factory tour is steep for what you get. We were walked through a small museum where the guide read us the plaques and posters. We then went into the factory and were shown where they fill the filled candies, nothing was happening in there we just saw racks. Next we went into the factory and were told how the conveyors work there was nothing happening at this time. We were given a pretzel sample. Next we were explained a few things and given 2 more samples. We then were given a chocolate “bar” and we got to see them putting chocolate on the popcorn and bagging it. To me this was not worth the money, there was 4 of us so we paid a lot for the tour. Not worth it in my opinion. We did buy some chocolates and popcorn and they were delicious. We also fed the goats, we were not impressed by the goat enclosure, felt bad for the goats being in a shipping container on a cement surface. We were there during “working” hours so really thought we’d see more happening.

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 enthusiasts alike.

It was fun and lot of samples! They have an outlet where for oh most perfect chocolate you get grate deals . And they have nice trails to walk outside

Visited on a weekday and enjoyed a small tour group size. Our tour guide Alexis did a great job and answered questions well. Some areas were difficult, I’m sure because there wasn’t active production, but she handled it like a champ! She was courteous and kind (we navigated the tour with a disgruntled toddler in a stroller). The IDM and the chocolate factory seem largely like a wealthy person’s pet project, but I can’t fault someone for what I don’t have 🤷🏻‍♀️

Oh wow!!! This popcorn. It's so good. Such high quality and tasty morsels. Every bite is different. I ordered the Peanut Butter Crunch and I highly recommend!!!!! There is chocolate coating the caramel popcorn and some peanut butter balls thrown in. The crunch is heavenly and the taste is SO FRESH!!! They packaged and shipped this and it's done so professionally they even in the heat index of 90° nothing melted!!! So impressed. I can't wait to visit in person. Their customer service is top notch. They truly care about their products. Well done!!

This is a nice place inside the Terminal at the South Bend Airport to get a meal before your flight. It's like a diner, but you order and pay at the counter. They have burgers, sandwiches, salads, wings, etc. I got the BLT on sourdough bread, and it was great! For airport food the prices are reasonable. There's a bar that shares the space, if you want a drink other than the usual soft drinks.

This review is for the old location. They are moving sometime in June 2024. The factory/store is in kind of a blighted part of South Bend and it shows. The building is kind of rundown and in need of work (or a wrecking ball). However, the chocolates/candies are still top-notch. They have one of the best hot chocolates that I have ever had.

Coffee is great. The service was bad if you're in a hurry. I wanted to pop in and grab some gifts on our way home. I got my coffee fast but no one waited on me to buy chocolate. I needed to go, so I put all the products back and walked out.

My daughter and I drove a long way for this factory and museum tour and were rather disappointed. The employees seemed bored and rushed us through the tour. There were nice displays but we felt like we couldn't look at all of them. There was nothing going on in the production line to actually see. The samples we were given were not great, and the prices in the shop were outrageous. There is a lot of potential here with the beautiful building and tour concept, but I would not recommend it.

Enjoyed the tour and the samples. Everything was good. Neat to see a small business making it. The tour has history, factory tour and museum.

Feels like a wholesome and heart-warming hometown business right out of a Hallmark movie. Interesting tour about the history of chocolate and loved the samples. There's also so many more chocolates to choose from and a wonderful gift selection. Service was amazing and staff were nice. There's also all the different flavors for crunch popcorn. And it is a very family friendly atmosphere.

I love this place! Great food and chocolate. I highly recommend going here when in south bend

This a new and huge Chocolate Cafe. The salads, soups and sandwiches are so delicious! We also have an outlet store directly behind the cafe where seconds on chocolates can be purchased for low prices. The ice cream and cheesecakes were so good! My kids loved it!!! The chocolate factory and museum were educational as well and we got a chocolate bar at end of the tour!

This place is the best! If you have young children and you're visiting the South Bend area, you need to reserve a spot on the South Bend Chocolate Company Tour. It is super engaging and hands on, and kept us enthralled the whole time (about 40 minutes). We were taken on a behind-the-scenes tour of the factory where the chocolate is made, and shown the different machines that churn out the chocolates. We also got full-sized chocolate treats during the tour. We were shown other chocolatey insider things, and then we were able to create our own chocolate-dipped confections with the help of staff. It was so fun and and kept our young children interested the whole time. It was definitely a great family activity. South Bend Chocolate Factory also has a little chocolate museum on site that you can visit for free. Here, you can pose with life-size cutouts of Lucille Ball. (You know, because of that one episode of I Love Lucy where she worked at a chocolate factory. It all comes together here!) You'll also see chocolate paraphernalia, chocolate memorabilia, chocolate accoutrements and more. You'll also find a cafe, where we enjoyed breakfast sandwiches, and they also offer samples of their chocolate treats. We tried samples of chocolate-covered pretzels. They were really good! You can buy chocolate treats in their store, which has so many different chocolate things. If you're a chocolate lover, or a lover of sweets, you'll find something to satisfy you here. South Bend Chocolate Factory has superior chocolate, so you should visit just because of that. But also, this chocolate is local to Indiana! So your visit also supports a local business, which is nice.

I used to get the german almonds all the time up to a couple of years ago. My gf got me some this year and let me tell you, they are no where near the quality they used to be. They taste like old stale almonds covered in cheap chocolate. I expected them to be exactly like they were just a couple of years ago for the proce of them!

Visiting Indiana and decided to go on a chocolate factory tour. Carmela was our tour guide and she was very informative about the process of making chocolate treats! The factory walk through showed the whole facility and Carmela explained what each station was doing. The tour lasted about 50minutes. We got to choose a piece of candy and also dipped our very own gold spoon in milk chocolate! It was very delicious!! The tour cost $5 per person and was given a 10% discount on purchases for their store. Good time had by all.

This is a great place to stop and tour! I didn't know South Bend had a chocolate factory until we went up for a girls weekend. The tours are every hour on the hour and really informative. You'll also get to sample chocolates - who doesn't love that? A great activity for a rainy day or for families.

Wife and I were there twice in the last few days. These folks were very friendly, hospitable and of course the chocolate is great. They're in the process of moving to a new location and we can't wait. Definitely a place to check ou..

A wide variety of delicious chocolate with amazing service and great atmosphere. No complaints.

The free tour was very nice. We came on a Saturday and learned that the factory does not operate on week ends so we didn't see the production line in action. The store is very nice. There is a small section of the building set aside as a museum . It was fun to look at old fashioned chocolate time and boxes.

Tasty chocolate & cute museum. Rachel was very nice & did a great job with our tour!!

So apparently every Lighthouse Shake is served with a side of racism. Just visited for the first time and was in line at the counter to order when a young man (late teens/early twenties) asked what I was waiting to do. I said place my order and he told me I needed to order at the other end and pay first. So I did and went back to the counter to wait for my order during which time several other people placed their orders, waited for them and then proceeded to pay. So I asked the girl who had helped me and was making my shake if I could have ordered at the counter earlier and she said yes. So I asked why was I made to step out of line when it was my turn and go to the counter but no one else was told the same? She apologized and said she would speak to him but I wanted him to look me in the eye and explain the policy. So once I got my shake and he had noticed I was back, I asked why he sent me to order from the cashier when I could have ordered here? "Because I was busy." That's not a valid reason and you weren't too busy to take the order of the white family of 5 in line behind me. He walks away and I say I'm not finished to which he replied he didn't care so I said could it be that I was singled out and treated differently because I was the only Black person in the store? He says no, I can send whoever I want to the cashier and rudely tells an older white gentleman to go to the cashier. That's when I asked to speak to the manager who was already in the process of refunding my money but what I took time to make clear to her was that young man (the only male working today) didn't belong in customer service and that little did they know I used to work in the same building upstairs at the Welcome Center for my first job. I had hoped in 25 years, Black people would finally feel more welcome in St. Joseph but clearly not. I'm also appalled at how rude this young man was to people who were clearly his elders. Oh well, I hope people of all backgrounds will think twice about going there. The shake was garbage anyway. #GettingIceCreamWhileBlack

I bought $57 worth of raspberry chocolate peanut butter chocolate and toffee chocolate and all the chocolate was dry it's horrible, old product

I saw the owner park in the middle of the street blocking traffic while she took her sweet time I'm the store. You can't stop your car in the middle of the street even if you have your flashers on!!!!!

The tour was alright. We could have done without the snarky elf tour guide who was funny for about 5 minutes. It was neat to see the scale of operations and the machinery but there was not a lot of production going on. The staff was just a bunch of under-motivated teenagers that really need a customer service training course. I know teenagers need jobs and are cheap labor, but it is a really bad look when no one in the whole store seems to care about anything but a paycheck. Hey the chocolate was pretty good though. I liked the "almost perfect" section because they are cheaper and have a wide variety to choose from, not just a small selection of closeouts. Here is a hidden gem: they had their version of sponge candy which is really hard to find outside of Buffalo. It was good and pretty authentic!

We were in South Bend for a wedding this past weekend and we saw many advertisements for the South Bend Chocolate Company tour. We have a teenager and a tween with us and they begged to go. I am so glad we did! We arrived to the factory on Saturday afternoon and were told that it wasn't a problem that we didn't call ahead to schedule the tour. They were very accommodating! We decided to do the pay tour (you get a goodie bag with this option!!) vs. the free tour. Our tour guide, who goes by "Hot Latte" is working college student. My first thought was, "Ok, this is going to be rather dull." Boy, was I wrong! Hot Latte was hilarious - His humor MADE the tour! Is it the best chocolate I've ever had? No. But it is good chocolate! And the factory tour was interesting. If you have an extra hour while in town, I would recommend this place! And make sure to request Hot Latte as your tour guide!

Don't try to take the tour on a Thursday afternoon, unless you like watching people mop floors and machines not doing anything. They really could have told that before charging us for the tour.

The spoon supplied with our coffee today at Memorial Hospital location (find picture attached). Hmmm....can't believe someone would serve this.

We went to this location, and we signed up for the tour. When you wait for the tour, there are a lot of educational displays about the origins of chocolate as well as photo ops. You're given a "golden ticket" to get your tour. You're also required to wear a shower cap during it. Once the tour starts, they take you to the candy making area. You are given the option to sample a couple of kinds of chocolate. They were tasty! It's sort of neat to see the things in the back, but that part wasn't long. After that part, you are taken to an area where you can dip a spoon into a machine to coat it in chocolate. It dries while you are on the last leg of the tour. That part is a tiny museum sort of area that has various displays with chocolate memorabilia and merchandise. At the end, you are given your chocolate spoon and a few chocolate items to eat from a little goody bag. I didn't really care for the chocolate items in the bag. They seemed to be more like old chocolate they were trying to get rid of? Anyhow--the tour is reasonably priced at $5.00 ($2 if you're under 11). Personally, for me, since the tour was short, I would rather have used the $5 to buy candy there instead of using it on a tour where you DON'T get to choose the candy you depart with....but having said that, it was something that was fine to do once. This location offers items that I have not seen at any of the other SB Choc locations. They have an area that they offer various shapes of chocolate such as frogs and elephants! I really wanted to buy those since they were reasonably priced, but it's hot and where we were headed, we would have had to leave the chocolate in the car where it would have melted. Too bad! They would have been great to eat and also made the most awesome gifts!

I'm not really a chocolate connoisseur, but I am just not impressed with the waxy substance they call chocolate. I love a good mocha latte, but what I got there wasn't good. It barely had a chocolate or coffee taste, and what was there wasn't impressive. The prices on the coffees are decent, but the taste is just lacking. Next to the coffee is a baked goods case and the items sure look good. I forgot to bring my gold bars to pay for it, so was unable to sample them. The candy case is next down the line, but if I wanted to eat wax, candles are cheaper. I also tried a milkshake last week and, to be honest, it stunk. It was more like a glass of milk with a scoop of ice cream in it and was one of the worst I've had anywhere. The cakes next to the ice cream looked good, but aren't worth what they want for them so I won't try them out. The saving grace of this place is the sandwich side. They have a $5 lunch special every day that is a good deal. They briefly removed one of the sides from the deal, but fortunately brought it back. (UPDATE : they again removed the side and now want $1.49 for it) I used to go in and enjoy the burger on Friday, but it was recently replaced with some kind of thing they pass off as a Philly Steak, but it is served on a hot dog bun. A HOT DOG bun! It also doesn't taste very good. Bring back my Friday burger! They have a nice selection of sodas to choose from. Many of them have not been seen on store shelves in years and I missed them. Finding out a bottle was going to run me $2 made me miss them a lot less. (UPDATE: they now have one as the soda of the day for $1.00. The rest are still $2.00/bottle) There is also a retail candy section that has a lot of good candy, but I think it's way too pricey.

Great coffee stop and candy store. Sandwiches...you gotta go here. Downtown location. Everything just right. Thanks folks. Well done.

I should really review this place twice: once for the chocolate and candy, and once for, well, everything else. First, the candy... the chocolate and other homemade candy here is very good; of particular note are the various specialty popcorns. Anyone looking for a sugary gift in South Bend should definitely check here first. Four stars is about right for this, only because it's a bit pricey. Then, everything else... I had the misfortune of paying to eat here once a few years back. The food isn't horrible, but it's not especially good and it IS entirely too expensive for what you're getting. On the coffee front, their roasts aren't bad, but somewhere between the roast and their brews, something must get lost in translation. There are at least two coffee places within three blocks of here; either of them offers better black and specialty coffees than SBCC. I'd give the restaurant two stars at best, and that only because they have okay-to-decent baked goods.

So I have never been to the factory store. But I do like the fact that they have stores at Rest areas along I-80/90 both east and west bound. It's a great place to stop at and get some nice gifts. The chocolates are VERY sweet! I think they are way too sugary and not very chocolaty. I'm a little spoiled because I have access to French chocolates (michel cluizel's), so I'm a bit turned off by overly sweet chocolates. Gift boxes don't have a legend so if you hate guessing what's in the chocolates this is not a good choice for chocolates. I may improve my ratings the next time I stop by. But overall this place was not all that outstanding, but worth a try.

This place has ruined me for coffee from all other places! My husband and I stock up on their coffee beans about once a month, and brew the coffee at home - once staunch daily Starbucks goers, we rarely go there now except if we're traveling. The food is good (I particularly love their soups) and the playroom in the back has allowed us to have some relative peace during lunch while our 19 month old scampers around while we eat only a few feet away. We've gotten to know a few of the workers now - all very nice and happy to help us. Will continue to go back for the coffee and more!

It was interesting to see how chocolates are made, and the cost per person ($4) was reasonable for what you got...a chocolate spoon and small bag of malt balls (one of my favorite chocolates). The tour was okay. There really wasn't much going on the day we were there and the part I would have found most fascinating, production of the dark, milk and white chocolate, didn't happen at this factory. We did get 10% off anything we bought following the tour, which was good, and it applied to the "almost perfect" pieces too. Those are ones that are slightly less than perfect. I got some pecan clusters (AKA turtles) for my husband (his favorite), mint melt aways (soon good and not too sweet like most chocolate can be), and chocolate covered tart cherries (my favorite from this place). I don't think I'd do the tour again (don't need the education a second time), but I will probably hit up the other locations in the city to refill on my favorites.

File this under, "Huh! Did not know that" and, now I do. Fun and quick 1 hour diversion that involves chocolate. And, deals on really tasty chocolate. While they give honor to Willey Wonka in the facility, don't expect a chocolate fantasy land. This is a chocolate factory, museum, and outlet store and cafe. The tours are entertaining with guides with names like Capt. Crunch, Sweet & Salty, and Hot Latte. Very kid and family friendly. Sometimes corny, but worth the time. BTW, the day we were there they had 20 lbs. boxes of chocolate covered cherries for $1.50/lb. that is about a 90% savings.

holy cow. this was an unexpected treat when kt m. and i rolled thru south bend on our way back to cincy from chicago. the plan was to hit up notre dame. that plan was delayed due to the awesomeness of the sbcc. from hot cocoa to coffee to candy to haribou frogs - you can't go wrong. if you don't give this place 5 stars then there's something about yourself you need to check:). willy wonka is alive and well in south bend.

I placed an online order with this company for some chocolate peanut clusters. A friend who lives in the South Bend area recommended this company to me. I live in Maryland. After placing my order for the clusters, I received them and to my surprise, they seem to be placed in a white box with a sheet of white paper on top. I took a bite and they were stale. I sent an email to the company to let them know I was unhappy with my first AND now only online order. I received an automated reply stating someone would be in touch with me regarding my email. That was over a month ago and I still have not heard back from them. Their chocolate clusters were not cheap either so I expected to get what I paid for instead, I ended up throwing them out. I will never order from this company again. This is a sad way to do businesses, especially during a pandemic when many businesses are struggling to survive.

Great tour! Hot Latte was a great guide. We are from California and stopped by while in town for Notre Dame graduation. We learned a lot about chocolate and we bought lots to take home. Thanks for the hospitality. We even ate lunch at the cafe.

Great place for coffee, chocolates and other desserts. They offer a variety of food for lunch and dinner. They are open late so you can hang out alone if you need to study or work or with friends.

I hope you will forgive me for stereotyping here, but I assure you the content is generalizable. My wife and I made our way to the South Bend Chocolate Company as part of our honeymoon, which included a road trip from Seattle, WA back to our home in Greensboro, NC. the stop in South Bend was clearly "my" part of the honeymoon, as it included a trip to the College Football Hall of Fame, but we saw a brochure for the South Bend Chocolate Company at our KOA and thought we'd give it a try for "her". Make no mistake, I enjoyed it as well. The tour included samples, a presentation from a talking cocoa bean, and the chocolate manufacturing equipment, but if you're looking to complement the college football portion of a trip to South Bend, this isn't a bad choice at all for the other person.

I was very disappointed.... The museum is closed now, wish I would have known that before we went in. Cheesecake on a stick was yummy, kids loved the ice cream, fudge was meh, ok. Very pricey.

I bought South Bend chocolate over the summer when they were in Chicago at Christ Hospital and once I tried it I had to get it delivered they have the best chocolate raisins chocolate peanuts all of their chocolate is amazing

My wife and I drove up to pick up our popcorn order for our antique mall, we were treated like royalty by the staff and even the president of the plant came out and introduced himself, also offered us a free beverage, Mark offered to give us a tour even! It's worth the trip to South Bend Chocolate! Dave Cox -Co-Owner, Indiana Antique Mall

I have ordered product from this company 2 times in the last year and have been disappointed both times. Their shipments in both cases were late. This latest involved a delay of week. Chocolate tends to be temperature sensitive. The chocolate was unacceptable and was only offered a refund of the shipping cost which is unacceptable to me. I will not refer or order from this company again. Anthony K.

Expensive chocolates. They looked good but tasted mass produced, waxy and sugary. Not creamy and delicious. I was really disappointed. Nothing special. .

This is bar none the worst chocolate in the United States. The company is a marketing company not a chocolate company. The tour is downright embarassing. I found green mold in my truffle and it is overall a humiliating South Bend joke. Don't tour, don't buy, don't support. Go to Fannie and buy real chocolate.