New business pops into Falls

If variety is the spice of life, Broadway Popcorn of Sheboygan Falls is ready to provide adventurous popcorn lovers with something far from plain, white and unsalted.

Offering 18 different flavors of gourmet popping corn, Broadway Popcorn owner Bill Bird is quite comfortable operating outside the norm.

Bird opened the new gourmet popcorn shop at 505 Broadway St. in downtown Sheboygan Falls in late May.

The unique varieties and flavors combinations are based upon the special popcorn recipes from Osage River Popcorn in Osage Beach, Mo., which is owned by his brother David.

“My brother has owned a very successful store in Missouri for several years, so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon,” Bird said. “Our businesses are completely separate, but we do share the same recipes.”

Gourmet popcorn businessman Tom Altman created the recipes for each of the varieties sold at Broadway Popcorn and Osage River Popcorn.

“Tom is a big believer that when you use the best recipes and use the best ingredients, you get the best popcorn,” Bird said. “We’ve built Broadway Popcorn based on this belief. I have to give a lot of credit to David and Tom. We couldn’t have been able to do this without them.”

After seeking the perfect location for his intriguing business venture, Bird was drawn to the quant charm of downtown Sheboygan Falls.

“I am the type of person who is never going to retire. I always need something to do.” he said. “I thought this would be a nice business for me at this time in my life.

“I had been looking around for a place to do this for a while. One day I drove through town on the way to my dentist’s office and I saw this storefront. I knew right away it was the right place. It is the perfect size for a small gourmet popcorn shop.”

After inquiring about the availability of the store in January, Bird’s popcorn dream quickly turned into a reality.

“We did some remodeling for a couple of months and by Memorial Day, we were ready to open,” Bird said. “It has been fun so far. I can’t complain.”

A contractor by trade, Bird also owns Bird and Associates general contracting firm, based out of his home in Cedar Grove.

“I’ve been a general contractor in the area for 25 years,” he said. “It is a very small family-run business that keeps me pretty busy.

“I have a great deal of experience running a small business, which I can carry over to Broadway Popcorn. It certainly things go smoother when you are familiar with all the little details that go along with owning a business.”

In the first few weeks of business, Bird has been busy spreading the word about Broadway Popcorn.

“We’ve been getting a great response from people that come in to see us,” he said. “We’ve sent samples down to Salon 511, which has worked out great for us.

“Several ladies from the salon have come in to say they just had to get more of our popcorn. We’ve already had quite a few repeat customers, which is very important for any business.”

According to Bird, quality ingredients and a full line of highly distinctive varieties and flavors gives Broadway Popcorn an edge over its competition.

“We use real cheese and make our own caramel recipe, which I believe sets us apart,” he said. “We use Weaver Popcorn exclusively, which is very high quality. It’s a proven recipe that people have responded to in a big way at my brother’s store.”

Bird is willing to match his popcorn up with the best in the business.

“Garrett’s in Chicago is considered the best gourmet popcorn you can buy,” he said. “I have found that a large number of the people that have tried both say ours is as good as or better than theirs.”

All 18 popcorn varieties are popped fresh each day at Broadway Popcorn.

Flavors include classics such as caramel, cheddar and kettle, along with exclusive varieties like butterscotch, cinnamon, French vanilla, Broadway mix, caramel pecan, French vanilla almond, chocolate caramel, caramel cashew, cheese lovers, hot cheddar, white cheddar, white cheddar ranch, pickle pop, jalapeno and butter flavored.

For indecisive customers, sample stations have been set up to offer a sneak preview of each variety.

“Everyone has their own favorite,” Bird said. “It doesn’t seem like there is one flavor that stands out as the most popular.

“That is why we have so many flavors,” he said. “We want to satisfy everyone.”

All flavors are available in small, medium and large re-sealable bags. Small and large tins are also available for gifts and fundraisers.

“Popcorn makes a great gift for almost any occasion,” Bird said. “We have some very nice tins for special orders. We are also looking forward to supporting fundraisers throughout the community.”

Bird’s staff includes his daughter Samantha and store manager Susie Laganowski.

“We have a very small staff, but we are all dedicated to satisfying the customer,” Bird said. “We want people to remember our popcorn and make an effort to come back again, because they had such a great experience.”

Along with popcorn, Broadway Popcorn also serves Coke products.

“We have a full line of Coke drinks,” Bird said. “We invite people to come in select a bag of popcorn, have a soda and sit at our table for a while.

“We’ve had quite a few kids stop by and have an enjoyable time eating popcorn and drinking Coke.”

By choosing to sign a two-year lease, Bird appears highly committed to making Broadway Popcorn a success.

“I thought I needed at least two years to get this going,” he said. “Sheboygan Falls is a great place to be, and I think we fit in well with the other downtown businesses. I am really looking forward to the future here.”

Bird is looking to drum up awareness for Broadway Popcorn in the coming months.

“We haven’t done that much advertising yet,” he said. “We are planning to step things up very soon with in-store specials, flavors of the day, promotions, coupons and fun things like that.”

Broadway Popcorn, which is located at 505 Broadway St. in Sheboygan Falls, is open 9 a.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information, call 920-627-5850, or visit the Web site www.BroadwayPopcorn.com.