bush bean factory tour

That Beautiful Bean Co.

Visitor Center

Sustainability

Grillin'

Chili & Starters

ALL OF THE BEANS.

Find Our Beans In-Store.

COME FOR THE HISTORY, STAY FOR THE FOOD

Plan Your Visit

We are excited to announce the museum at our Bush’s ® Visitor Center is now open!

Please see the hours below for planning a visit to our café, general store and museum. You can find information regarding unexpected closures due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances on our Facebook page. Schedule groups of 30 or more by calling 865-509-3077. We look forward to seeing you soon!

*If a holiday falls on Sunday, we will be closed the following Monday. For current schedule changes, including holidays and those due to weather, check our social pages or call us at 865-509-3077.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an admission charge to the visitor center, is there a great deal of walking places to rest.

There is a drop-off area at the entrance to the Visitor Center. Once you arrive, there are plenty of benches inside and outside for resting.

Is the Visitor Center wheelchair-accessible?

Do we get to tour the actual plant.

No, we are unable to take visitors through the actual plant, but this is why we opened the museum, which includes a movie theater and video that gives a wonderful “behind the scenes” tour of the manufacturing process.

How long does it take to go through the Visitor Center?

Most guests typically spend 1-1½ hours in the Museum and General Store. This does not include time for lunch at the Family Cafe – which you definitely don’t want to miss!

Does the Cafe have vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free options on the menu?

Yes. Please call the Cafe (865-509-3485) for more details.

Do we get a free sample of beans when we visit?

Yes, when you have lunch at the Bush’s ® Family Cafe you will be served a sample of “the bean of the day” prior to your meal.

Does the Cafe offer catering?

Not at this time.

Will Duke be at the Visitor Center?

On occasion Duke will stop in for a meet and greet – when we know he’s stopping in, we will post on our Facebook page.

Is there room for RV/tour bus parking at your facility?

Yes. There are designated parking spaces at the far end of the parking area.

What type of merchandise do you sell in the General Store?

We have all the Bush’s ® product offerings, including regional flavors that you might not find at your local grocer. There are Bush’s ® -branded items (t-shirts, hoodies, magnets) and also houseware/kitchen items and other unique finds.

Do you give tours of the Bush homeplace located across from the Visitor Center?

There are no tours except for a few days in December – the home is decorated for the holidays and guests may stop in for a tour. For specific dates/times, please call 865-509-3077.

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Stop at the Bush’s Visitor Center in the Smokies to Taste, Shop and Learn About Beans

Get ready to say, ‘bean there, done that.’.

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Omnipresent at every summer barbeque, Bush’s Baked Beans are a classic. But have you ever given them more thought than their place on your table? In the Smoky Mountains, you’ll find a deep dive into the humble bean that will have you reaching for your can opener.

Nestled in the foothills of the Smokies in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, just 45 minutes from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Bush’s Visitor Center is a fascinating journey into America’s favorite canned bean brand. Located in the Bush family’s original general store from 1911, the visitor center is an educational and entertaining stop for the whole family. Start in the museum with the tour video to get a lay of the land before continuing through exhibits where you can learn about the history of the company, how beans are grown and how Condon Bush developed Bush’s Original Baked Beans from his mother, Kathleen’s, recipe. The secret family recipe hasn’t changed in over 50 years and the Bush family still owns and operates the company out of Chestnut Hill. Across the street from the visitor center, the Bush Homeplace can be seen, though you can’t tour the private home.

The tour through the museum is self guided and always free. You can calculate your weight in beans and find recipes to take home and try in your own kitchen.

Beans are naturally high in protein and fiber and are as good for the planet as they are for your body. Beans, which are part of the pulse family, require minimal water to farm and help create healthy soil where they grow. Being committed to sustainability comes naturally to Bush, and you can learn all about that commitment on the tour.

After the tour, head to the Family Cafe and be sure to come hungry. The menu features hot and cold sandwiches, salads, entrees like chili and breaded chicken tenders, all with the same common theme which is, of course, beans. Don’t miss the desserts, which are truly unique. The Pinto Bean Pecan Pie is inventive and delicious, made with pecans and pinto beans.

At the end of your trip to the visitor center, a stop at the general store is a must. This isn’t your typical gift shop. You’ll feel as if you’ve been transported back in time to the turn of the century as you shop for souvenirs to take home. You can find every product Bush makes, including regional flavors that might be hard to find at your home grocery store. There’s also Bush’s merch for the bean lover in your life, kitchen and homewares and plenty of souvenirs with Duke’s face on them.

Plan to spend a few hours at the visitor center, including eating lunch at the cafe. It’s open Monday through Saturday with the exception of holidays and the days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. The museum and store are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the cafe opens at 11 a.m. There’s a big parking lot with spaces large enough to fit RVs, and the property is wheelchair and stroller accessible so you can enjoy it with the whole family.

Learn more at www.bushbeans.com .

Bush’s Visitor Center 3901 US-411, Dandridge, TN 37725 (865) 509-3077

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Bush’s Visitor Center

3901 U.S. 411, Dandridge, TN 37725 | (865) 509-3077 | bushbeans.com

Attractions, Indoor Attractions, Museums

The relaxing short drive to Chestnut Hill, TN is filled with mountain history and scenic countryside. Kids love the interactive museum. Savor the simple flavors of country life.

Discover the place where it all began. Discover the legacy that made Bush’s what it is today. And it’s all housed in the original A.J. Bush & Company general store founded in 1897. The interactive museum is first class. Kids love the multimedia experiences in the bean can. The relaxing drive to Chestnut Hill, TN is postcard perfect mountain splendor. Savor homemade mountain recipes, southern specialties and even bean desserts! Make sure you try our pinto bean pie.

The old-fashioned General Store features beautiful gifts with chic country flair. Elegant flour sack dishtowels, rustic home decor, quilts and fine craft items. Marvel at the wide assortment of candy and Jay and Duke memorabilia.

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Attraction:

Bush's Beans Museum

Chestnut Hill, Tennessee

In the corporate world of mass-marketed food, Bush's Beans exudes an aroma of homey charm. The Bush's Beans Museum and Visitor Center, and the Bush's Beans cannery across the road -- with its four nine-story-tall cooking towers -- are the biggest things in Chestnut Hill, a rural crossroads in the Smoky Mountain foothills of Tennessee.

"People are amazed that it's out in the middle of nowhere," said Audra, one of the museum guides. Cathy, a fellow guide, said, "It's like the Emerald City."

Visitors might assume that this Oz-like place owes its existence to a talking dog (Duke, the star of Bush's Beans commercials). In fact, the museum is an outgrowth of A.J. Bush's 1891 general store, and the cannery across the road was built by A.J. to give his sons something to do. As the company grew, so did the food factory. The Bushes, loyal to their little town, saw no reason to leave.

All of this is explained in detail in the museum's many historical exhibits, most of them featuring screens with video testimonials from Bush family members and cannery employees. Visitors learn that the company survived for decades canning tomatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and sauerkraut. Its metamorphosis into America's beans-in-a-can champion hinged on three years: 1969, when it created its own "secret family recipe" for baked beans; 1993, when Bush's dumped most of its other products and became bean-skewed; and 1995, when the first Duke commercial was broadcast. Five years after that, Bush's had 70 percent of the USA baked beans market.

In 2010, after an eye-opening visit to the SPAM Museum , Bush's expanded the old Bush general store into a museum and visitor center (The gift shop incorporates the store's original ceilings and walls). Then in 2022 the company completely remodeled the museum, retiring old exhibits -- including a giant walk-thru bean can -- and bringing in new displays that encouraged more watching and less reading.

Despite the out-of-the-way location, the Bush's Beans Museum churns through a thousand bean-crazed visitors a day during the summer. "Some people, they're in the parking lot when we open, and they walk out with us in the evening," said Audra.

We were told that the most popular items in the gift shop are the beans. Bush's makes nearly 100 canned varieties, and visitors purchase the less common ones -- not available in their local stores -- by the case.

Popular questions asked by visitors include "Where's Duke?" (He stops by unannounced once or twice a year), "What's the secret family recipe?" (It's a secret), and "Where are the bean fields?" (Mostly in North Dakota and Michigan; Bush's had to abandon local produce when it went all-in on beans and remained in Chestnut Hill).

A museum visit begins in the video theater, where you're taken on a tour of the cannery across the road. Quick cuts and uptempo music bring excitement to the shaker conveyor, soak tanks (seven tons of beans in each), the blanching process, bacon cubing, the sauce waterfall, and the can flipper that ensures bean saturation. Viewers, who sit on bean-shaped benches, learn that Bush's baked beans are not baked, but steamed (in those nine-story-tall towers), and that 98 percent of Bush's customers want bacon in their bean cans, but 96 percent of them then throw the bacon away.

Visitors exit into the museum, where they can stand on a special scale that tells them how much they weigh in beans; ponder the "Can Openers Through the Years" display; and turn a crank to start the "Bush's Water Reclamation Program" machine, with colorful golf balls rising and tumbling to represent fertilizer and biogas.

The museum centerpiece, replacing the giant walk-thru bean can -- which has been sealed off and shoved into a corner -- is a giant Golden Idol bean of undetermined variety (Its shape seems more butternut squash than bean). Surrounding it are small shrines highlighting popular legumes, and informative exhibits such as "The Journey of a Bean" and "Do You Know Beans?" The adjacent "Beautiful Bean Aisle" is a giant touch-screen supermarket display; tapping a can on a shelf brings up some affirmative text ("If you like blackeye peas then you'll love purple hull peas") and a QR code to scan for more details.

There are no free samples in the museum and no testing of experimental new canned bean varieties, but the Visitor Center does have its own cafe. We were told that its most popular menu item was not baked beans, but the pinto bean pie. Visitors sometimes weigh themselves on the weight-in-beans scale before and after eating to see how many beans they've consumed.

With all of this talk of beans, we were surprised that the subject of flatulence is nowhere addressed in the exhibits of the Bush's Beans Museum. The museum guides assured us that digestive gas was actually a good thing -- a byproduct of healthy food -- and told us their standard response when someone brings up the subject: "We put 239 beans in a can, because if we put in one more it'd be too forty ."

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Home, Sweet Home of those Beautiful Beans

Did you know that the world-known Bush Bean Co. started right here in Jefferson County? Down the road from Dandridge in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, is where you can learn all about the history, the beans, and how they have continued to grow for over 110 years.

SEE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Savor the Moment

Be sure when you visit to stop by Bush’s Cafe for a delicious meal. They offer a variety of food options, including … you guessed it … beans! However, if you’re looking for a recommendation – the pinto bean pie is a must.

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The 'World's Most Beautiful Bean Museum' Is Now Open at Bush's New Visitor Center

The "one-stop destination for all things beans" has been remodeled with digital experiences and a scale that measures your weight in beans.

Mike Pomranz has been covering craft beer for nearly two decades and trending food and beverage news for Food & Wine for 7 years.

Food museums can be a tough sell. Eating a delicious slice of pizza is a lot different than learning about a delicious slice of pizza . But one of America's oldest and best-selling baked bean brands, Bush's, has just spent over five months remodeling a destination they think will really get people excited… a museum about beans .

The Bush's Visitor Center in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, has recently renovated and reopened its Visitor Center Museum, billed as "a one-stop destination for all things beans" and "the world's most beautiful bean museum!" The museum originally opened in 2010, housed at the site of the original Bush's general store which dates back to the early 1900s. But Bush's made the call to temporarily shutter the museum on January 31 of this year for a refurb. As of July 12, it's back, promising "the familiar, historical feel — now with new innovative, digital experiences."

"Whether you want to explore Bush's wide range of products on the digital shelf set, take a deep dive into Bush's history, or get a close look at how these beautiful beans are made, all your foodie questions will be answered at the Bush's Beans Visitor Center Museum," the brand wrote. And, bonus, it's all free!

Among the upgrades, Bush's says visitors can now use a "reimagined bean scale" where they're able to "get their weight in beans alongside equality examples such as Duke's weight in beans." (If haven't seen a commercial in decades, Duke is the brand's canine mascot.) The theater experience has been "refreshed" including a new "virtual plant tour highlighting the manufacturing process." And the aforementioned "interactive digital shelf" gives customers a chance to view "the vast array of Bush's products" by simply "clicking on a product of their choosing to learn more about the ingredients, delicious recipes and more."

And that's not all. Bush's points out that the Visitor Center still includes the General Store, featuring all sorts of Bush's swag and products, and the Bush Family Cafe, both of which remained open while the museum got its makeover. Pro tip: If you eat in the cafe, you will be served a complimentary sample of "the bean of the day" prior to your meal.

Okay, but honestly, do you really want to visit a bean museum? I've never been myself, but the Bush's Visitor Center has a 4.8-star rating on Google Maps across over 4,500 reviews, the vast majority of which came from before the makeover. I haven't searched any other bean museums on Google Maps, but I doubt you'll find that level of acclaim.

The Bush's Visitor Center Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bush's suggests most people spend about an hour to 90 minutes in the Museum and General Store — though your experience may vary depending on your love of baked beans.

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Taking a day trip to Bush Beans Visitor Center

A Day Away By Mike Steely

I was at the VA on a medical visit recently and talked with one of the employees there who is new to our area. We chatted about the places most people visit when new to Knoxville and I asked him if he’d been to the Bush Bean Visitor Center or Newport.

He said he and his wife have been to places like Dollywood and Gatlinburg but, no, he’s not been to Dandridge or Newport. So I filled him in on what he might see if he took a day’s trip in that direction.

I’ve written about the Bush complex south of Dandridge before but I thought I’d do a mental trip again and I shared it with him.

We’ve driven over to Dandridge several times and I’m always been fascinated. Dandridge, Tennessee’s second oldest city, was protected by an earthen dam from the rising waters of Douglas Lake. The town sports a Revolutionary War cemetery, a historic courthouse that serves all of Jefferson County, a noted local drug store, and so much more including a beautiful downtown area.

The easiest way to start this trip is to take I-40 to I-81 and go north to the first or second Dandridge exit. Turn south and follow the signs to the historic downtown area.

From Dandridge, it’s easy to visit the Bush Beans Visitor Center without getting into the heavy traffic of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. Take Chestnut Hill Road, Highway 93, south across the lake to Highway 411 and turn right and proceed until you reach the Bush complex.

About 1908, A. J. Bush started a small cannery in the Chestnut Hill Community. In 1969 his great-grandson, Jay Bush, discovered a new recipe and the company grew to become a nationally known canned bean maker.

Today the Bush Visitor Center tells the history of beans and the Bush family with a well-done museum, gift shop, and tasty restaurant featuring, you guessed it, Bush bean products. The free-admission complex features a huge bean can large enough to walk through and many other items. There’s a video featuring the place’s history and the original family dog, Duke.

The center is a great free attraction and the Bush historic home and factory is nearby.

You can double back on Highway 411 and take it to Newport and visit the Tourist Information Center at 115 Mulberry Street. It’s open Monday through Saturday starting at 9 a.m. and seasonally on Sundays.

Newport is on the ancient Warrior’s Path and is the county seat of Cocke County. Newport was the site of several pioneer forts along the French Broad River. It originally was known as Shine’s Ferry.

You could double back on Interstate 40 to Knoxville but there are a couple of places nearby you might want to visit. Just east of Newport is the small community of Parrottsville on Highway 321. Just beyond that small rural community is Swaggerty’s Fort, a blockhouse built to defend from Cherokee attacks. It stands by itself beside the road and was built over a spring to make sure defenders had useable water.

Just north of Parrottsville, along Highway 340, is a natural attraction you will miss if you don’t carefully watch for it. The highway, also called the Oven Creek Road, crosses Oven Creek and the span is actually built atop a natural arch. The natural bridge is marked along the highway and you can park along the highway and walk down to see the arch, which is a wonderful and little-known attraction.

From there you can double back or continue north to Greeneville and come back by Interstate 82 to I-40.

A day away with the family, a friend, or by yourself can refresh your mind and give you a wider outlook of our area. Many newcomers know of our main attractions but learning what else is in our area is the second step in getting to know what Knoxville and East Tennessee offer.

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Explore Dandridge, TN

Bush beans visitor center museum.

Discover the home of the "No. 1 Baked Beans in the World"" when you visit the A.J. Bush & Company general store, founded in 1897. Now a museum, gift shop, theatre and family café, see Jay Bush and his dog Duke on the big screen; walk through the canning process--literally--in a giant replica; learn your weight in beans and snap a photo with Duke. Make sure you try the pinto bean pie. Open Mon.-Sat.

3901 Hwy 411 Dandridge , TN 37725 United States

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