Dutch confectioners' Tony's Chocolonely' is to build a real-life Willy Wonka inspired Chocolate Factory. Sharing their plans online, the company outlined how their new factory, to be built in Zaanstad near Amsterdam, takes inspiration from the Roald Dahl book 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'.
The well loved children's tale tells the story of a young boy, Charlie, who wins a golden ticket in a bar of Willy Wonka's chocolate and, along with a group of other children, visits Willy's magical chocolate factory – resulting in a whole array of crazy incidents.
Several film adaptations of the book have been released through the years to great success, notably featuring Gene Wilder as the original Willy Wonka and Johnny Depp taking on the role in the most recent film incarnation.
The project is being overseen by Dutch architecture firm SeARCH, and the plans show a bright red rollercoaster twisting throughout the factory.
The company hopes that the factory will bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and is expected to be completed in 2024 – though this may now be pushed back due to the current crisis. It will certainly not come cheap, initial projections suggest the factory will cost as much as $115 million – so Mr. Wonka sure better have some deep pockets.
The location of the factory was formerly used as a major storage facility for grain and cocoa imported into The Netherlands from former colonies in the Caribbean and East Indies. The sheer size of the facility making it the perfect place for the new chocolate wonderland to be situated.
Releasing a statement on their website Tony's Chocolonely said:
"It will be a total experience. A Tony's Chocolonely Chocolate Circus, where you can learn and experience everything about chocolate, the problems in the cocoa industry and what Tony's Chocolonely does about it."
"Every year we ultimately want to receive 500,000 chocolate fans. With a ride on the roller coaster through the factory, we hope that visitors are so upset by Tony's mission that they will participate to realise it."
"Together making 100% slave free the norm in chocolate is leading in everything we do. In the national monument Pakhuis' De Vrede' the head office of Tony's Chocolonely will be located and as we are used to with Tony's, the door is always open for everyone. The building therefore has a public character with restaurants, sports facilities and flex spaces for impact organisations."
"It will be some time before the Tony's Chocolonely Chocolate Circus opens its doors. But we have taken the first step. In a year or 3 it will be there. In the meantime, we will keep you informed."
As of yet, it is unclear as to how many Oompa Loompas will be employed.
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