"You can never have enough popcorn," laughs Peter Suter.

He ought to know. He's supplied Bluffton popcorn eaters with the stuff for 20 years while in the Bluffton movie theatre business.

If you have a taste for popcorn, this is your lucky time of life. The Bluffton popcorn flavor choices just expanded eight-fold.

In September, DRC Holdings, Inc., operated by Peter and his wife, Kim, launched a new venture: Shirley's Gourmet Popcorn Company at 117 S. Main St., Bluffton. The shop is part of the Shannon Theatre building, also owned by DRC Holdings.

Planning for the new business started last fall. Now in operation, the business model calls for one-half of the popcorn to be available in the retail shop on Main Street. The other half is aimed at organizational fundraisers and corporate purchases. In addition, the product is available as a great addition to wedding receptions.

"We pop five gallons at a time," said Suter. "We want a high-quality product. It works well with the theatre because people buy popcorn all the time."

While the business has a Bluffton address, customers may pop up (excuse the pun) anywhere in the world as orders are accepted via the Internet.

"The initial thought is to service customers within driving distance, but the Internet makes shipping available literally anywhere in the world," said Suter.

Using the United States Postal Service as its carrier, the product now spreads the name of Bluffton, Ohio, in every direction.

What's your favorite flavor, Pete? "Chicago style," he answers quickly. "It has caramel mixed with cheddar. Our biggest seller, however, is Buckeye, which offers a combination of peanut butter, chocolate and caramel.

Suter said he is pleased with the initial local response to the popcorn. "We are selling a lot. Last Saturday (Sept. 19) customers were buying Buckeye as quickly as we could make it."

The popcorn is created using the theatre's poppers. There are two different tumblers. After the corn is popped it is drizzled with the other ingredients.

Shirley's will soon offer a flavor of the month, seasonal flavors and special occasion flavors.

Suter said that several considerations went into deciding to launch into the gourmet popcorn business. First, with 80,000 theatre-goers walking through the Shannon's doors each year, it was obvious that DRC Holdings had a captive audience for a special product. Second, the fixed costs in creating the product were in place. Third, the owners decided to focus on a high-quality product.

"This is a scalable business model. Shirley's is a very franchisable model," said Suter. "The key to success is that the popcorn is fresh. It's critical that we pop the corn almost every day as we receive orders. We also want to use the highest quality ingredients. We will continue to make small batches by hand."

Gourmet popcorn lovers wanting to know another secret of the product will discover that the corn is Midwest-grown Weaver Gold Popcorn.

So far the results are tremendous says Suter. "It's exciting having to keep up with the demand. We are also pleased that we already have two fundraisers going on with our product.

Customers may wonder how Shirley's logo was created. "Matt Luke of Comm3Creative, who has an office in the community, created our logo," said Suter.

In honor of the late Shirley Torsell, whose name the company carries, DCR Holdings is sending a portion of its proceeds to regional and national literacy programs in her name. One of her interests was giving books to young children, according to Suter.

Prices vary and the popcorn is sold in bags of one-half gallon and 1 gallon and tins of one-half gallon, 1, 2, 3.5, 6.5 gallons. Also available are samples of 2, 3.5 and 6.5 gallon. Wholesale purchases of 25 gallons or higher are also available. Prices range from $2.50 for a one-half gallon bag all the way to $89.85 for a 6.5-gallon tin of premium.

Shirley Torsell
Suter said, "When it came time to name our company there was little doubt that it was a perfect way to honor our most popular theatre employee, the late Shirley Torsell. For more than 25 years she was as recognizable as the stars on the screen."

Shirley's Gourmet Popcorn Company
117 S. Main St.
Bluffton, Ohio 45817
Phone: 419-230-7606
www.shirleyspopcorn.com
[email protected]

Popcorn varieties:

Original flavors
Theatre style

Classic flavors
Caramel
Cheddar
White Cheddar
Chicago - caramel, cheddar
Kettle

Premium flavors
Buckeye - peanut butter, chocolate, caramel
Chocolate almond - chocolate, almond

Nuts
Frosted almonds
Frosted pecans