Gourmet popcorn and toppings store Poppn Popcorn opens this Saturday at 77 Catherwood Street.
Owner Mark Curran says the idea for his first-ever business came to him when he fell ill last year and had difficulty eating. His experience with hunger led him to want to help people facing food insecurity.
“I couldn’t see, with COVID and everything, going into business and not trying to help the community at the same time,” he said.
At the end of each month, five per cent of Poppn’s gross margin will be donated to a local food bank to fight hunger. The monthly recipient will be determined by random draw, the first being the North End Food Bank.
“I just wanted to combine helping someone in the community with something fun, like popcorn and candy,” he said. “I just need the community involved and I think that’s one way that we can all come together, helping someone in need.”
Poppn will offer eight different flavours of popcorn and nine candy toppings, along with cotton candy and drinks to mix and match. Curran says they are trying to source as many local products as they can and that all their goods are from Canada.
“The buzz is incredible – we get strangers showing up to the store location asking when we’re opening,” he said.
Curran always intended to open Poppn on the west side and is thinking of opening more locations that will continue to serve the community once they become more established.
“I live West and we typically have to go East for the really good stuff, so I just wanted to give back to my local community, my neighbours and give them something to look forward to,” he said. “I saw an opportunity where there wasn’t one.”
This story was originally published on Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
