Take a day trip to Elizabeth's Pecans in Turkey, NC

This article was written for our sponsor, Elizabeth's Pecan Products.

Walking into Elizabeth's Pecans in Turkey, North Carolina is an immediate feast for the senses. The jingle of the doorbell signals your step over the threshold into the quaint shop that features dozens of locally made goods and it's almost impossible to ignore the sweet smell of pecan pralines and soft brittle.

"What makes us unique is that we grow our own pecans, we process our own pecans, and we make all of our pecan products in-house," said Alan Bundy, founder and owner of Elizabeth's Pecans. "Our products are small-batch made — we make about five pounds of soft brittle every seven minutes.”

Turkey is located just an hour from Raleigh and is a small town of roughly 300 people. It happens to be the hometown of Bundy's mother and is where Bundy's father started a pecan farm in the 1980s after retiring from the military and his engineering career. After his father's passing, Bundy took over the farm, which sits on 60 acres, and opened a pecan processing plant in 1996. He began selling them to grocery stores and you can find B&B Pecans in 240 major retail locations across the state.

While getting the pecan business off the ground, Bundy would travel to trade shows to sell his pecans. His wife, Maureen, would make pecan pralines for Bundy to take to traveling shows as something for guests to snack on while they watched demonstrations. It became a hit people just couldn't quit.

"They would ask if we sold the pralines, and when we said no, they asked why not," said Bundy. "So I hired a couple of ladies to make them in small batches when my wife couldn't."

"In the evenings and on the weekends I would be making pans and pans of praline candy," added Maureen. "We still make everything in small batches, I'm just not the one doing the cooking anymore."

After perfecting the praline recipe and method, the Bundys realized they had a lot of pecan pieces leftover. Bundy wanted to put the pieces to good use. A friend suggested he make brittle, but if Bundy was going to make brittle, he wanted it to be soft.

"We worked on the recipe for months — we spent three to four months, almost five days a week, trying to perfect it the way we have it now," said Bundy. "I took the soft brittle to a trade show and made enough for the whole weekend, but by noon on the first day, I was sold out. From then on, we were known for our soft pecan brittle."

In 2000, Bundy opened a shop called Elizabeth's Pecans, named after his daughter, that sold the famous soft brittle and praline, as well as other pecan products.

"It's pretty neat to have a business named after yourself; it's something unique that will be a part of me for the rest of my life," said Elizabeth Bundy Hattrich of her father's store and namesake. "Growing up, I never thought too much of it, but looking back now that I'm older it's been a fun experience to see the company grow into what it is today."

Originally located where the pecan processing plant still operates, Bundy moved Elizabeth's Pecans to 32 Railroad Street in downtown Turkey earlier this year. The 100-year old building got a bit of an exterior facelift and a ramp addition outside to improve accessibility for customers, but still features the original front doors, side walls, and flooring. The store's inviting interior is decked out for each season and the shelves are lined with both edible and non-edible goodies.

"We always wanted a store where we could show off local products," said Bundy. "The store is actually called, 'Elizabeth's Pecan Products, A Taste of the South' because that's what it is. It does a lot better here than tucked away in the woods. Moving the store here has been a big win for us."

If you want to peruse local made goods like mugs, afghans, or fishing lures — Elizabeth's Pecans has them. If you want a tasty treat, the store has plenty of those too.

The shop features local and American made goods like jams, sauces, pottery, and soap. Bundy wanted to put an emphasis on locally made because that's what Elizabeth's Pecans is.

"We carry a wide variety of North Carolina-made products like pottery, art and jewelry, but also take pride in providing products made in the United States like wooden flags handmade by veterans and cotton blankets made in South Carolina," said Hattrich.

Of course, the inventory of Elizabeth's Pecans products lining the shelves is what most people coming into the store are looking for. Elizabeth's Pecans come in 14 different flavors including traditional ones like chocolate and praline, but also feature unique flavors like raspberry chocolate, mandarin honey, and jalapeno. Bundy is currently working on a 15th flavor to be released soon. All Elizabeth's Pecans products are made on site with natural ingredients.

"The chocolate covered soft pecan brittle is my favorite, but the dark chocolate soft pecan brittle is a close second. I'm a chocoholic," said Hattrich. "We sell all of our flavors individually, as well as in samplers and gift baskets."

"It's hard to decide which is the best flavor," said store manager Anita Ezzell. "Once you try one flavor, you want to try the rest of them. If you want to get some great pecan products, come to Turkey, North Carolina."

Elizabeth's Pecans is open Monday through Saturday and is located at 32 Railroad St, Turkey, NC, 28393.

This article was written for our sponsor, Elizabeth's Pecan Products.