What can you do/see at Normal plant?

[RivRyan]

That is, what might I be able to see in Normal, IL. Heading there on a business trip this week. Is there a factory tour? There’s no Spaces showroom, but people do pick up their vehicles in Normal. Is that at the service center? Can I go to a service center to see an R1T?

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[COdogman]

Corn fields and more corn fields. And corn festivals. And corn themed beer. And candy corn.

The delivery center at the factory is not accessible to the general public. They do tours though!

 

[Donald Stanfield]

https://destihl.com/

I quite like the stouts from here. Especially Privyet

 

[Wefty]

And you can't charge at the factory.

 

[johnmcgrann]

I was just there this past weekend visiting my wife's parents who live about 3 miles southwest of the plant. The responses above are pretty much on track. I'm not 100% sure that they offer tours.

I did reach out to my Guide at the last minute to see if he was around for a quick face-to-face intro, but he was working from home on Friday.

I did a drive-by, which I thought was interesting (my wife less-so). You can pretty much drive right up to the front door, I didn't park and walk inside to see what was available to casual visitors.

And yep, I'd echo the comment about Destihl, we had dinner there on Friday, the beer is good, the food is good!

 

[moosetags]

We took Factory Delivery of Opal (our R1T) in April of this year.We took the Factory Tour before taking delivery. Our tour was prearranged in conjunction with our delivery. They do have a small gear shop off of the lobby with some limited clothing selections.

Brian

 

[oskeei]

If you don't have business there, not the most welcoming. BUT if you go in, you can just say you came in to get a coffee and browse the merch. You can see part of the factory floor from the HUGE window behind the reception area. Ask your guide or CSR if you might be able to tag along on a tour if someone is picking up. Not the most organized IMHO, but you might luck out.

IMHO Little Beaver is better food and beer than Destihl. Much more of a local feel too. If you just want beer, Keg Grove.

 

[SANZC02]

When I took delivery at the factory last January I took the tour, they were expanding the catwalk and the tour guide said they were planning to have public tours. I have not heard anything since then but might be worth contacting them to see if those started yet.

 

[WilcoFan]

I stopped in a week ago about 4pm on a Monday as I was passing by and needed a charge from the EA nearby the plant.

Parked in the visitor lot (no place for public to plug in for a charge, which is surprising and disappointing... seems like an obvious place for a RAN charger). There is a beautiful lobby area with a coffee shop and some tables to sit and a few museum-type pieces around to look at. You can't go in the factory, but there are two huge windows into the factory space where you can watch finishing touches on R1S, R1T, and EDVs. Must have been shift change or end of day whistle as employees were headed out as I sipped my latte and took it all in.

I didn't ask about organized tours, so no idea, but that would be nice.

The most impressive site to me was from the road coming in where there was a parking lot with literally hundreds of Rivian vehicles of all shapes and colors apparently on their way to delivery.

My request to anyone from the company seeing this... some sort of welcome experience for owners (even if small and generic) would be great. And please put in RAN fast chargers there for us. I know there is an EA station two miles away, even with hyper fast 350 kWh (which I know is faster than Rivian vehicles can take), but a RAN charger for customers at home base just seems logical.

Worth a 15 minute stop to anyone to take a gander, IMO.
Lots of corn and windmills to look at on the way there...

That is, what might I be able to see in Normal, IL. Heading there on a business trip this week. Is there a factory tour? There’s no Spaces showroom, but people do pick up their vehicles in Normal. Is that at the service center? Can I go to a service center to see an R1T?

I was just there this past weekend visiting my wife's parents who live about 3 miles southwest of the plant. The responses above are pretty much on track. I'm not 100% sure that they offer tours.

I did reach out to my Guide at the last minute to see if he was around for a quick face-to-face intro, but he was working from home on Friday.

I did a drive-by, which I thought was interesting (my wife less-so). You can pretty much drive right up to the front door, I didn't park and walk inside to see what was available to casual visitors.

And yep, I'd echo the comment about Destihl, we had dinner there on Friday, the beer is good, the food is good!

 

[oskeei]

There are Rivian waypoint (level 2) chargers, have never checked to see if it's open to public or if it's only for their fleet vehicles. It's on the south side of the visitor lot.

 

[PeterSK]

It’s ten or so years ago now that I was regularly commuting to Bloomington/Normal for a work project that lasted over a year. Mitsubishi still owned the plant but may have already stopped production by that point. I usually stayed at the Uptown (= Normal) Marriott though my client was Downtown (= Bloomington). I recommend Destihl and Medici restaurants, The Rock for Greek/Mediterranean (more of a fast food/take out place but good), and of course the Coffee Hound coffee shop, which RJ liked so much he had them open a branch in the factory. I’m really pleased that all of them made it through the pandemic

https://www.wglt.org/local-news/202...the-brew-that-launched-a-thousand-rivian-r1ts

 

[RivRyan]

> Corn fields and more corn fields. And corn festivals. And corn themed beer. And candy corn.

The beauty and general interest of central Illinois is beyond question for this son of the Land of Lincoln.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions, folks. It doesn't appear that they've begun factory tours, except maybe if one planned well ahead. With all rooms booked at the Uptown Marriott, I found an airbnb for $30/night (plus $120 in cleaning fees), but actually a really nice place. I'm going to try to swing by the factory and look in, and maybe convince some fellow conference-goers to hit DeStihl, Medici or Little Beaver. I appreciate the replies!

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