What if we told you that one of the finest, most sinfully delicious, small-batch chocolatiers in the world was located right here in Sin City, only about ten miles from the Riviera Hotel & Casino? Yes, we’d be salivating too.
You’re in luck. The Mars family – yes, of M&M’s, Milky Way and Mars Bars fame – has been handcrafting chocolate, brittle and candy since Ethel Mars herself began doling her creations out to friends and family in 1911, and the quality of their products really does stand the test of time. Known today as Ethel M premium chocolates, the shops have been serving up versions of her sweet treats since 1980.
Whether your tastes tend toward truffles, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, satin crème, nuts & caramel, sugar-free treats, kosher candies, or a mix of all of the above, you can design a chocolate collection for yourself right in the store. And don’t forget that Ethel M is also famed for brittles: there’s the classic pecan brittle, the chocolate pecan brittle, and the classic & chocolate pecan combo. Yum.
Best of all, they offer self-guided tours of their chocolate factory! It’s located right next to the famed Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden, featuring more than 300 species of cacti, such as prickly pear, saguaros and ocotillo. Both the factory and the gardens are open seven days a week, although the chocolate machinery usually operates only from Monday through Thursday. Regardless of when you show up, you’ll be able to taste divine chocolates, see the factory, learn about the chocolate-making experience, and visit the botanical gardens.
And it’s free! Talk about a sweet deal.
The Ethel M Chocolates Las Vegas Factory
2 Cactus Garden Drive
(If using a GPS, type in 1 Sunset Way instead.)
Henderson, NV 89014
(702) 435-2655
http://www.ethelm.com/default.aspx
Hours: 8:00am-6:00pm daily, except holidays. The factory stops making chocolate at 4.
For updates to hours or to find other Vegas-area store locations, click http://www.ethelm.com/store_locator/default.aspx.
