When the doors of an old-fashioned soda fountain opened at the Sunriver mall two decades ago, its owners were just hoping to make it through the summer.

”We had no clue what we were doing,” said Brett Palmateer, one of Goody’s owners who recalled having cue cards at the soda fountain with instructions on how to make various sundaes.

”Opening night what we did was say, ’50 cents for everything, but you had to accept whatever you got,’” Palmateer said.

Today, Goody’s has perfected the art of making treats that tempt the sweet tooth, the majority of which are prepared by hand at its headquarters on the east side of Bend.

In June, the Sunriver store will celebrate its 20th year of business in Central Oregon.

Throughout the years, the popularity of the black and white checkered floors, old-time ambience and mouth-watering smells has prompted the company to open four additional stores, something even the owners didn’t plan on at first.

Brett’s mother, Marion, and late father, Marne, opened Goody’s in 1984.

The couple graduated from Oregon State University and always wanted to retire and live in Bend.

They got the opportunity when Marne, a corporate executive with Xerox in Connecticut, had a chance for early retirement.

The couple started looking for a house and a business in Bend.

In 1982, they opened a small 500-square-foot candy store in the Sunriver mall.

When the mall expanded two years later, the Palmateers decided they wanted to open an ice cream store.

”We didn’t just want to be another scoop ice cream place,” Brett Palmateer said. ”We wanted to be more of an ice cream parlor.”

After finding a soda fountain in Portland, the Palmateers decided to recreate a 1930s-style soda fountain from their childhoods.

When they couldn’t find an ice cream that was suitable for the shop, they called the head of the OSU dairy division, who helped them create their own special blend of ice cream.

That first summer, Marion would open the store, Brett would close, and when things slowed down in the evening, Marne would start making ice cream, sometimes staying up until 2 a.m.

”We had a lot of growing pains that first summer,” Brett Palmateer said. ”It was really busy.”

When the first winter came and business slowed, the family was actually relieved.

A few years later Goody’s started making its own chocolates out of the Sunriver store.

”It really helped us balance out Goody’s because it is seasonal,” Brett Palmateer said. ”The chocolates help us get through the winter and the ice cream in the summer.”

Brett Palmateer said today about 40 percent of Goody’s sales are from fountain and ice cream, 20 percent come from chocolate and the remaining sales are candy and gift products.

By 1991, the location at the corner of Oregon Avenue and Wall Street became available and Goody’s opened its second store in downtown Bend.

Within the next three years the company’s production needs grew and the business opened its headquarters on the east side of Bend where the chocolates and ice cream bars could be make.

”The new building added overhead, and the two stores weren’t selling enough to pay for it so we needed to expand again,” Brett Palmateer said.

This time, the owners looked all over the Willamette Valley and in the Portland area, but ended up finding the perfect location in a historical district of Boise.

A second Boise location was added a few years later when a new cineplex opened.

Five years ago, Goody’s opened its fifth store in the Forum Shopping Center on Bend’s east side.

”I think (the number of stores) is just going to be about right for our size of production right now,” Palmateer said. ”Now we are trying to work more on our online and wholesale sales.”

The stores’ total sales have reached $2 million, Palmateer said, up from about $300,000 during the first few years at the Sunriver store.

Goody’s has also grown in its number of employees.

Between 60 and 90 people work at Goody’s, depending on the season.

But despite the store’s success, Goody’s is still affected by competition.

Brett Palmateer said when a new ice cream shop or candy store opens nearby, the store sees a 10 percent to 15 percent drop in sales. But for the most part, he said, people will return to Goody’s.

In July 2002, national frozen-yogurt chain TCBY opened across the street from the downtown Goody’s location. More than a year later the chain store closed.

”People will complain about a $2.25 ice cream cone, but if they go to our competition they will spend $3 and they are going to get half the product and half of the quality,” Brett Palmateer said. ”The competition helps educate your customers.”

Goody’s prides itself on making their chocolates without the wax and preservatives that many of their competitors use.

Each week Goody’s produces 600 to 800 pounds of chocolate and during the holiday season the number can reach up to 1,200 pounds.

On a peak weekend during the summer, Brett Palmateer said the Sunriver store will churn out 150 gallons of ice cream.

Along with the quality of products, the store’s atmosphere contributes to its popularity.

Many of Goody’s customers are families and older individuals who are attracted to the nostalgia of the store.

Stores typically are about 1,500 square feet and provide seating for about 32 people. Cast-iron bar stools, wooden counter and the smell of caramel corn and chocolate takes many people back to a different time.

”We are a form of entertainment for a family,” Brett Palmateer said.

To celebrate the store’s 20th anniversary, Goody’s will hold a mooing contest at the Sunriver store June 19 at noon.

Customers at all five stores will also be able to order a root beer float (a brown cow) for 84 cents.

”We have about a dozen of the original Goody’s employees coming back so that will be fun and nostalgic,” Brett Palmateer said.

Kristy Hessman can be reached at 541-383-0350 or at khessman@bendbulletin.com.