Hammond’s Candies
(Photos by Susan McKee)
By Susan McKee
The Road Trips Foodie
There’s no better time of year to visit a candy factory than the weeks leading up to Christmas. Watching Santa’s helpers fashion candy canes from miles of twisted red and white confection is a great way to catch the holiday spirit.
That’s exactly what this Road Trips Foodie did on a visit to Denver last December. I checked out the production at Hammond’s Candies, 5735 North Washington Street, Denver, Colorado. It’s easy to do — no reservations are necessary and there’s no charge. Kids are welcome (there are no age restrictions). However, because no reservations are necessary and there’s no charge, unless you want to wait in a long line for a tour slot, get there early in the morning! Tours start every 30 minutes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (yes, I was there about 8:45 a.m. — and, no, I was not the first in line!).
Hammond’s was founded in 1920 by Carl T. Hammond (although family members are no longer involved). It is well-known for its hand-twisted candy canes (you have a choice of almost two dozen varieties, starting with the traditional peppermint but also including Key lime, butterscotch and bubblegum. They also offer all those nostalgic Christmas favorites: hard candies, peppermint straws and (for those naughty ones) candy coal. Ribbon candies are a specialty.
Here’s a tip: If you want to see ’em making candy at the Hammond Candies Factory, get there during the week. You can still take a tour on Saturdays (they’re closed Sundays), but there’s no production scheduled on the weekend, so you’ll be looking at eerily silent equipment rather than ribbons and jots of deliciousness. The folks at Hammond know what they’re doing when they offer you a sample of their confections at the end of the tour. When you step into the shop and start to look around, well, there’s no way you’ll leave without a bag full of their best candies.
