There are a lot of reasons to stop on a road trip, and candy is a pretty good one. This Missouri factory has been drawing travelers in with saltwater taffy, fudge, chocolates, and shelves full of sweets for years.
The taffy selection is especially hard to ignore, with enough flavors to make choosing a bag take longer than expected. You can mix a few favorites, try something new, or just grab a box for the car.
The rest of the shop is just as easy to browse, with plenty of old-school candy and fresh treats around every corner. It is a simple stop, but that is part of the appeal.
You get out, stretch your legs, buy something sweet, and head back down the road.
The Taffy Wall That Started It All
Picture walking into a room where the taffy bins stretch so far that you honestly need a minute to figure out where to begin. Salt water taffy is the thing Redmon’s is best known for, and the lineup of flavors is big enough that most folks leave with a mix instead of picking a single favorite.
You can stick with the familiar classics, or you can wander over to the fruity and silly flavors that make kids giggle when they read the labels.
My honest tip is to grab a bag and build your own sampler, because trying a little of everything is half the fun here. Taffy is soft and chewy, so it travels really well in a warm car, and it will not melt all over your seats the way chocolate sometimes does.
That makes it a smart snack for the long stretch of highway ahead, especially if you have picky eaters in the back seat.
Did you know salt water taffy got its name from seaside boardwalks, even though there is barely any salt water in it at all? It is kind of funny that a landlocked Missouri town became a taffy hot spot, but road-trippers clearly do not seem to mind.
Just try your best not to finish the whole bag before you reach the next exit, okay?
Finding Your Way To Phillipsburg
You will probably know you are getting close long before you see the building, because those bright billboards along I-44 and old Route 66 do a great job of teasing your sweet tooth mile after mile. By the time you reach the exit, everyone in the car has usually agreed that stopping is not optional anymore.
The shop sits at 330 Pine St, Phillipsburg, MO 65722, which puts it right in that easy stretch of highway between bigger stops.
Phillipsburg is a small Missouri town, so you will not be fighting city traffic or hunting for parking in some crowded downtown. The setup is made for travelers, which means you can hop off the interstate, grab your treats, and get back on the road without a big detour.
If you are driving the Mother Road for the history, this is a sweet little break that fits right into that classic road trip mood.
Here is a small tip that makes the drive easier, especially if you are traveling with younger kids. Tell everyone to keep an eye out for the billboards, and turn it into a game to see who spots the next one first.
It keeps the back seat busy, and it builds up the excitement so the stop feels like a real reward when you finally pull in.
Fudge Made Fresh In The Candy Kitchen
Okay, so the taffy gets the headlines, but the fudge case is where a lot of people quietly lose all their willpower. Redmon’s makes its fudge right there in an onsite candy kitchen, and the selection runs deep, with plenty of flavors to compare side by side.
Because it is made fresh, you get that creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture that packaged fudge from a grocery shelf just cannot match.
If you are the type who likes chocolate in its purest form, a classic chocolate slab is a safe and happy choice. Adventurous eaters might want to look for the swirled or nutty varieties, since those tend to be the ones people talk about on the ride home.
You can also mix and match a few pieces so everyone in the car gets to claim a favorite.
A little practical advice goes a long way with fudge on a road trip. Keep it in a cooler or out of direct sunlight, because a hot dashboard will turn that beautiful block into a sticky puddle faster than you think.
Fudge also makes a thoughtful gift for whoever is watching your pets or picking up your mail back home, and it is a tasty way to say thanks.
Scooping Bulk Candy By The Pound
Remember being a kid and wishing you could fill a bag with whatever candy you wanted, no rules attached? That is pretty much the whole idea behind the bulk candy section at Redmon’s, where tons of different treats are sold by the pound.
You grab a bag, wander along the bins, and scoop a little of this and a little of that until the bag feels satisfyingly heavy.
The variety here is huge, so you will find gummies, sour candies, chocolate bits, and colorful little pieces that are easy to pass around the car. The best part about this setup is that nobody has to agree on anything, since every person can build their own custom mix.
It is also a nice way to try something new without committing to a full box of a candy you might not like.
Here is a helpful trick for families who are trying to keep things fair. Give each person their own bag and let them fill it however they want, which cuts down on arguments later on the highway.
Just remember that those small scoops add up quickly, so keep an eye on how full your bag is getting before you reach the register.
Old-School Candy That Takes You Way Back
There is something about spotting a candy you have not seen since childhood that can turn any grown adult into a giddy kid again. Redmon’s stocks a big selection of nostalgic and hard-to-find candies, the kind of stuff that used to sit near the register at the corner store years ago.
Walking those shelves feels a little like flipping through an old family photo album, just a whole lot sweeter.
This part of the store is a great spot for some family storytelling if you are traveling with different generations. Parents and grandparents can point out the treats they grew up with, and kids get to try something totally different from what they usually find at the store.
You might be surprised which retro candy ends up becoming the new favorite in your car.
Nostalgic candy also makes a fun and unexpected souvenir from Missouri, especially for friends who love a good throwback. Tuck a few classic pieces into a small bag, and you have a gift that sparks conversation instead of sitting forgotten on a shelf.
Honestly, it is hard to walk through this section without grabbing a handful of things that remind you of simpler days.
Chocolate Covered Twinkies And Other Wild Ideas
Yes, you read that right, and yes, somebody really did decide that a snack cake needed a full coat of chocolate. Chocolate covered Twinkies are one of the treats people love to mention when they talk about Redmon’s, and they are exactly as fun and over the top as they sound.
It is the kind of thing you buy partly because you want to taste it and partly because you want to tell everyone back home about it.
The chocolate counter keeps going well past the snack cakes, which is great news for anyone who loves cocoa. You can find pecan logs, gourmet chocolates, and a whole lineup of chocolate covered creations that make it tough to narrow things down.
If you like something a little more classic and less silly, the pecan logs are a sweet and nutty option that feels like a treat from an old-fashioned candy shop.
My friendly advice is to make sure a wild item ends up in your bag, even if you are usually a plain chocolate bar kind of person. Road trips are supposed to be a little bit ridiculous, and a chocolate dipped snack cake fits that spirit perfectly.
Just grab some napkins on the way out, because chocolate and a moving car do not always get along.
Specialty Sodas And Jars Worth Taking Home
After all that candy, you are going to want something to wash it down, and the specialty sodas at Redmon’s are a fun way to do it. You can find bottles with unusual flavors and playful labels that feel very different from what you usually grab at a regular convenience store.
Picking out a soda almost becomes its own little game, especially when everyone tries to find the weirdest flavor on the shelf.
The jams and preserves are a quieter part of the store, but they are worth a look if you enjoy homey, country-style foods. A jar of jam makes a thoughtful gift that feels a little more grown-up than a bag of gummy candy.
It is also something you can enjoy for weeks after the trip, spread on toast while you remember that long drive through Missouri.
My advice is to pack jars carefully, because glass and bumpy roads are not the best of friends. Wrap them in a spare shirt or tuck them between soft bags so they stay safe until you get home.
If you are flying home after your road trip, check the rules for liquids and spreads before you stock up, so nothing gets left behind at security.
Clean Restrooms And Friendly Faces
Anybody who has done a long road trip knows that a clean restroom can honestly feel like a small miracle. Redmon’s was started by John and Sharon Redmon, who wanted to create a fun, clean, and comfortable stop for travelers, and that goal still shows today.
Visitors often mention the tidy restrooms and the friendly staff, which says a lot about how much care goes into the place.
It might not sound exciting compared to chocolate covered snack cakes, but these details matter when you have been sitting in a car for hours. A welcoming spot where you can stretch, freshen up, and browse without feeling rushed makes the rest of the drive so much easier.
Parents traveling with little ones especially tend to appreciate a stop that feels relaxed and well kept.
A little kindness goes a long way here, so feel free to ask the staff for help if you cannot decide between flavors. They know the shelves well and can point you toward popular picks or treats that match your taste.
It is the kind of easygoing, hometown feel that turns a quick bathroom break into a stop you actually look forward to on your next trip through the area.
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