The AM/DM podcast: Is this as close to Willy Wonka as Memphis gets?
The exterior of the Hershey factory in Downtown Memphis Sept. 9, 2026. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
Barbecue nachos. Dinstuhl’s chocolate. And Ice Breakers gum.
Those are three quintessential Memphis products, believe it or not. And when it comes to Ice Breakers, a Hershey factory on Kansas Street is the exclusive global producer of the gum, making 300,000 pounds of it a week.
Even 30 years after Hershey arrived in Memphis, many people still don’t know the factory exists. But one of the factory’s leaders is hoping to change that.
Today, features writer John Klyce is here to talk about his time inside the factory, what else they make there and how the Hershey’s plant is making itself known in the community.
Join us.
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AM/DMMary Cashiola
Mary Cashiola has been a Memphis journalist for nearly two decades, beginning her career covering city government and local neighborhoods at the Memphis Flyer before being hired by Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s administration.
Before joining The Daily Memphian, she was the managing editor of the Memphis Business Journal, which was named one of the top 10 Best Designed Newspapers in the world by the Society of News Design while she was there.
She also has a background in advertising, with a focus on higher education and the hospitality industry.
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