Angela Bailey and her mother Linda Meherg stand behind a candy display at the Chocolate Factory in Golconda.

The Chocolate Factory in Golconda is a candy cache for chocolate lovers. A variety of chocolates, fudge and ice cream line the shelves of this quaint little shop nestled in the Dixon Springs State Park area.

Linda Meherg and two of her friends started the Chocolate Factory in 1977, after another woman had shown them how to make chocolates. “I was just really intrigued by it,” Meherg remembers. “My two girlfriends were, too. They said, ‘Oh, Linda, let’s do this.’”

Having previously owned a used furniture business, Meherg had some experience running a company. Although, she confesses, “We didn’t know what we were jumping into. We were just excited about it. We loved it, you know, and I still do.”

The women were so eager to get started, they couldn’t even wait to find a building. Their initial base of operations was a camper, before they relocated to the building where the business resides today, which is on SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative lines. At one point, there was an additional store in Kentucky, but Meherg bought out her friends for the Golconda store and let them keep the Paducah branch, which eventually closed.

Over the decades, the Chocolate Factory has steadily grown, prompting Meherg to expand the building several times. However, she says they’ve reached their limit. Any further expansion would eliminate their parking lot. Meherg considers the business’s slow and steady growth to be a true blessing. “I always say the Lord knows we didn’t have enough sense to do it real fast,” she laughs.

The business has become a family project. Meherg’s daughters, Angela Bailey and Tina Null, help run the financial and operations side of things, while Meherg works in the back boxing candy assortments and making gift baskets. Meherg also gives a lot of credit for their success to her devoted staff.

Her passion for chocolate is obvious in the variety of treats throughout the store. When asked her favorite, Meherg says, “Most of the creams. I love the truffles. The terrapins, [they are] the best.” Bailey adds, “That’s easy, caramel — anything with caramel.”

While many of their products are available all the time, there is some fluctuation. They attend chocolate shows to broaden their inventory, and in the summer, ice cream options are popular.

One of the Chocolate Factory’s charms is the myriad of shapes, colors and designs of the chocolates. Customers can even request a specific design, because the chocolate makers at the shop are able to create custom molds. Several sugar-free options are also available.

The Chocolate Factory has been a part of its community for almost 50 years. Not only do its staff members satisfy their community’s collective sweet tooth, they also are involved through school donations and their participation in the Deer Festival Parade.

Meherg says she truly enjoys her work and the interactions with her customers. Many customers come in specifically asking for her, a testament to the connection she’s built through her business.