My name is Mike Burns and I am the Sales Manager for Grand Rapids Popcorn Co. My brother Tony and I are the third generation of family members to work at Grand Rapids Popcorn Co. When ChoiceOne Bank contacted Grand Rapids Popcorn to create a guest blog post I was excited. A chance to share my company with many other business professionals is awesome!
Grand Rapids Popcorn started banking with ChoiceOne approximately 5 years ago. From the beginning, ChoiceOne was a great fit for our established but always evolving business. They are willing to create new ways to accommodate us with a “no problem is too hard to find a solution” attitude.
Our business was started in 1944 by my great uncle Roy and great aunt Rose Darling. When first started, it was operated out of a house on the West side of Grand Rapids. They sold popcorn, cotton candy and sno kone supplies. In 1984 my father, Tom Burns, and my uncle Chuck bought the business. They continued selling the staples but soon started to expand the products they offered.
We now supply carnivals and fairs in over a dozen states for 10 months of the year, along with a variety of other customers. From one popcorn machine businesses to convenience stores, farm markets, popcorn shops, and over 500 schools, we deliver what our customers need to make their concessions a success. We are also the Midwest supplier of Slush Puppie. We rent, repair, service and sell any concession equipment needed.
Of course, I saved the best for last, our retail shop. When the business moved to its current location a retail popcorn shop was not originally in the plan. However, our customers changed all that. They would come in asking for fresh popped popcorn. We started with a small selection, along with traditional gift tins at the holidays, but then grew into the retail shop we have today. We offer 35 flavors of popcorn every day at our retail shop, 4675 West River Drive, NE, Comstock Park, Mich., or you can find us on the web at www.grpopcorn.com. We offer gifts from single bags of popcorn to large corporate gifts. If you have been given the task of purchasing the employee gifts or client gifts, let us help you with the tasty treat of POPCORN.We ship anywhere in the continental U.S.
Seriously who doesn’t love popcorn?If you know someone who claims to not love popcorn, send them to us and they will love it by the time they leave our store!
