Dart and Map

I did it! I went to the Jelly Belly official factory in Fairfield, California. I’m obsessed with Jelly Belly and had wanted to go for years. I am up in Northern California a few times a year, so had to just wait it out until it worked out to go. And then it happened!!

We saw multiple school buses, but had great fortune. They had just finished the tour and were eating lunch. What a fun idea for a day trip for kids, I gotta say. Although maybe not so fun if they eat as many jelly beans as I.  : )

The building was just a regular square shaped place, not the shape of a jellybean, but I pretended anyway.  I went with my guy, Brian and his mom. As soon as we got there, I bought 3 tour tickets. They give us each a paper hat, which acts as your ticket.

Moments after buying our tickets, we noticed an employee blocking the stairs to go up to the tour.  It became temporarily closed due to an “incident.” Fine, then. We started in the museum across the parking lot. The museum looked like a trade show space, with curtains draped on poles used for all of the background stories and pictures. In the floor areas were different types of machinery used to make jelly beans and their other candies, artwork made of jelly beans, jelly beans hanging from the ceiling. Being that I am from Chicago, I was pretty excited that my hometown had a part in the history of the company. They were a confections company in Cincinnati that moved to Chicago in 1904. The move was successful, causing them to stay in Chicago, but close up the Cincinnati shop. They eventually moved to California.

Jelly Belly jelly beans were created in 1976. I did not know that and did not know they were named to rhyme with LeadBelly, a blues singer from the 1920s. It was Ronald Reagan’s obsession with them that brought them the well-deserved attention they received. That part, I remember.

At the entrance/exit of the museum, are plenty of candies and jellybeans you can purchase. I bought a bunch even though I knew full well that the main building had a crazy amount of jelly beans, too.  In front of the museum is a little train you can hop on to get driven to the main building. I forced myself to act my age and let the mother in line with her kids choose their seats first. Then we got in and TOOT!! TOOT! were whisked away towards the… ohhhhhhh well …..how about that? An ambulance was there,  in front of the building entrance we were going to be taken to. Two older ladies were slowly walking to their car. Perhaps their friend fainted on the tour? The train driver took us to the side entrance, where they sold actual food. That worked out well as we were super hungry. The diner had enough options to satisfy us. Good. This way we wouldn’t faint.

The first floor has an outstanding variety of Jelly Bellys as well as confections.  I had asked my brother for a list of flavors he wanted. He loves them, too. It’s probably his fault I like them so much. Back in the 80s, I would have totally been into them just cause my big brother was. I don’t think he meant for me to get his whole list and I don’t know why I got all of them but stopped at the last 2. I have a lot of receipts from that day and none of it lasted beyond 2 weeks. And by lasted, I don’t mean spoiled, I mean: I ate everything I bought for myself.

Up the stairs we went. There was someone there that had us pose for a picture with a giant jellybean, which they had for sale at the end of the tour for more than I wanted to spend.

You CAN book a guided tour, but we just wanted to walk around and read the signage ourselves.  It’s a loop, with stops along the way, telling you stories, history, and information about making the jellybeans. There are people actually working in the factory below you. I didn’t expect to see any action at all as their website mentioned there would be maintenance and no one would be there, but they happened to open up that day, so we did get to watch some of it. As I watched people just doing their job, I wondered how I would feel if people looked at me working through a glass window. Of course, my job isn’t thrilling. I don’t make jelly beans.

There was a jelly bean game that I played with my boyfriend. It quickly took a picture when we finished, but I wasn’t in the frame, so he got to be displayed for the rest of the day on that electronic game board, in his cool hat.

The tour can take as long or as short as you want. There is an elevator and the floor is a flat surface. We went past all the Jelly Belly flavor named “streets” and finally finished the tour.

Oh, no…. BUT WE ARE NOT DONE! They have a wine tasting room!!!! They pair wine with their confections!!!

We, for the third time, went to the gift shop and bought more jelly beans and chocolate.

What a fun little trip! Sure, maybe it’s just a factory, but it’s what you make of it and I made it fun.

Jelly Belly Factory & Candy Store, 1 Jelly Belly Lane, Fairfield, CA 94533

jellybelly.com