Anyone who visits Nashville is likely thinking about one of three things...music, hot chicken, or Goo Goo Clusters.
The legendary candy - America's first combination candy bar - was invented almost by accident in 1912. And while the Goo Goo Shop downtown is on every tourist's bucket list, it's about to be closed for a few months while they undergo a $2 million renovation.
The shop will be closed starting April 25th and transformed into the "Goo Goo Chocolate Company" over several months, but once it re-opens in the fall it will be a much different experience. Not only will you of course be able to buy any Goo Goo product you could possibly imagine, the Goo Goo Chocolate Company will offer interactive candymaking classes, a "Design Your Own Confection" station, a full-service chocolate bar, whiskey and wine pairings, and even boozy milkshakes!
This isn't entirely a new experiment. If you've visited the Goo Goo Shop over the last year you might have designed your own Premium Goo Goo or attended a "chocolate class", and the reaction was apparently strong enough for the company to make it a permanent feature. Laurie Spradley, the VP/Operations and Brand Development, says “The customization and immersive experience the Design Your Own product offers is exactly what people are craving, and we’re responding to that craving by delivering an incredible new experience this fall with the fully transformed Goo Goo Chocolate Co.”
The shop will reopen sometime this fall, but if you need your Goo Goo fix before then, they'll be out and about with their traveling "Candy Van," interactive classes, and other pop-up events.