Houston’s Iconic Chocolate Factory is Shuttering, Leaving its Dedicated Workers in Tears: A Sweet 72 Year Run Ends in Sorrow

When it comes to Kegg’s Candies, parting is definitely sweet sorrow. Space City’s very own Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is shutting down operations for good at the end of this month.

Sure, there were no songs or rhymes, but there were plenty of reasons the city loved the confectionary. Kegg’s Candies is a Houston institution, hands down.

Its history was sweet, but not short — the original factory opened its doors way back in 1946.

The last remaining Kegg’s candy shop, nestled into a plaza at 4934 Beechnut in Meyerland, is set to shutter on July 31. The factory itself is now already closed.

The company’s Facebook message on the closing is straightforward, simply sharing the end date. But in person, it’s much harder for the employees of Kegg’s to say goodbye. They aren’t sharing simple sweet nothings.

Factory and store manager Colleen Steele is one of just two employees left. Both are working today, reaching gloved hands into the gleaming display cases and pulling out truffles and chocolate-covered Oreos. The cases aren’t so much filled with treats and chocolates, but studded with them, with empty spaces where pecan crisps used to sit.

Steele, decked out in a signature red-and-white Kegg’s tee, has been with the company for 16 years.

“We’ve just been like one big family working together. I am going to miss everything,” Steele says with tears in her eyes, her voice trembling.

“The owners have been fantastic people to work with and the crew and all of us were one big family so for many years. That’s what I’m going to miss the most.”

The customers have turned out, some to fill boxes and boxes, others to get one last taste of their very favorites, and still others just want to sample as many delicacies as they can for the very last time.

Your last chance for chocolatey goodness ends in a few weeks. That is, if the candy-crazed don’t raid all of Kegg’s shelves before then.

“There was a line out the door at 9:30 in the morning yesterday just waiting to get in,” Steele says.

The confections are running out, and fast. After all, the candy is 25 percent off until Kegg’s shutters for good.

But you can still find chocolate bark in both milk and dark, chocolate peanut butter patties, chocolate-covered pineapple and orange, and more.

Steele’s keeping July 31 as the projected closing date, but who knows? It could happen sooner.

“We’re running out of a lot of it. We’ll see what happens,” she says.

A Piece of Houston History Gone

The last truffle sold will mark the end of an era. “We’ve been part of Houston’s history for so many years. We’re the one and only — there’s nothing here comparable to us,” Steele says.

You can’t find handcrafted confections just anywhere. “It’s kind of an art form. It’s an elite handful of people that are able to do this. This isn’t just something anybody can do,” Steele adds.

But she doesn’t sugarcoat the truth.

“This is going to be it for Kegg’s unless somebody comes along and buys it and revives it,” Steele says. “This is the end of the line for Kegg’s.”

Houston’s candy icon is officially calling it a night. Sweet dreams.