Loved the tour. Great to see how the workers make the baskets. Lots of skill involved here.
Things have changed after the girls have taken over and now its not the best place in the world to go anymore
Wow, have things changed at Longaberger and I don't mean for the better. Property was shabby. It used to be pristine and beautiful. Limited hours, just plain disappointing. I have visited several times in the past and it doesn't even look like the same place. Weeds growing up in the landscape and parking lots. Almost looks deserted. Greed was the downward spiral of this once thriving empire. Going to China didn't help either. So, so sad.
Stopped on the way through town to see the basket building. Neat looking and a few things in the lobby to see. Not what I'd drive out of the way to see, but it was okay. Didn't stop at the factory.
We took our mom, who loves Longaberger baskets, to the headquarter office first. Took a few pics in front of the office which looks like a huge basket then 20 minutes away we came to the factory. Upon entering the compound you get a sense that its going out of business. The landscape is pretty rough and on a Friday afternoon there were only a hand full of cars in the huge parking lot. However, upon entering the welcome center building you are greeted warmly and provided a map of the stores. (Which appeared to be totally connected so you dont have to go outside. Nice if its raining or cold) You can get a push basket, which was nice for mom to push throughout all the stores or use lockers to store your coats or purses. The buildings are very nice and an elevator is available for anyone who cant manage the stairs. The employees were helpful, they had every kind of basket you could imagine, the restrooms were plentiful throughout and were very clean. Mom bought 1 medium and 1 small pumpkin (made of Longaberger strips of wood) and a beautiful christmas basket. All for $81. The pumpkins were not but the christmas basket and loads of others were 50% off. Not bad compared to buying them in a retail store. I am not a huge "basket person", but even I can appreciate the workmanship. Overall, a good experience. If this review helped you, click like below.
What a fun place! If you need a basket, good luck choosing! There are so many you will want to take home. Or, you can make one yourself. It is a beautiful building and property and the restaurant is a must. A big buffet of all the home cooking, comfort food you'd want! Every item was delicious! Save room for dessert.
Longaberger Homestead was on my to do list for the summer and I finally got to visit this past weekend. The store had everything 50% off or more. I was determined to purchase something but could not find the color picnic basket I wanted for the discounted price. You can also make your own basket there but I did not have an hour to do so. My guy and I ate at the Longaberger Homestead Restaurant. The food was pretty good, especially the chicken and the carrot cake. It was buffet style and dessert was included. The restaurant is not actually owned by the company but is located on the property. The Longaberger property and store are beautiful. I was just sad to see it so deserted. They are making lots of changes to the company and I hope that they do well in the future. I hope to return to make a basket in the near future.
This company was prided around all american products, now the only thing american is their baskets. Ever since the daughters took the comapny over the place has gone downhill and fast. Not to mention everything made in china is still outrageous in price. I dont forsee this company making it if it keeps down the path its going. I worked for the outlet store and the manager the hired was constantly hitting on a high school kid we had working, he finally asked me to report it to corprate and you know what they did, got rid of me and the kid effected. This company is a joke. Please shop elsewhere.
The guide for the factory was informative, pleasant, and responsive. She was a well informed,long time employee. All in all a pleasant learning experience.
Was a little disappointed. I thought the place was several buildings of shops. It may have been exciting for a basket collector. Didn't get to Dresden because it started to rain and we needed to head home.