Thunderstorms likely, especially this evening. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%..
Thunderstorms likely, especially this evening. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
The Popcornerie offers popcorn flavors including green apple, caramel, chocolate milkshake, cheddar, garlic parmesan, plus many more.
The Bluebell ice cream is the only item not made in shop, but customers will still enjoy it.
Feeling nostalgic? Customers can get a taste of flavors commonly found up north like the Purple Cow or Cherry Phosphate.
Carmen Torres serves up sweet and savory popcorn at The Popcornerie.
More than just popcorn, The Popcornerie also offers sodas and floats, ice cream, and occasionally live music.
The Popcornerie offers popcorn flavors including green apple, caramel, chocolate milkshake, cheddar, garlic parmesan, plus many more.
The Bluebell ice cream is the only item not made in shop, but customers will still enjoy it.
Feeling nostalgic? Customers can get a taste of flavors commonly found up north like the Purple Cow or Cherry Phosphate.
Carmen Torres serves up sweet and savory popcorn at The Popcornerie.
More than just popcorn, The Popcornerie also offers sodas and floats, ice cream, and occasionally live music.
NEW PORT RICHEY — You don’t have to spend a fortune going to Disney to get a taste of the happiest place on earth. The Popcornerie is just as welcoming an environment that serves up smiles with every bite.
The Popcornerie is a cute little establishment at 9205 Little Road in New Port Richey that opened in April but has been serving popcorn for much longer than that. Carmen Torres, the popcorn chef and founder of the business, stirred up a passion for creating sweet and savory popcorn bites seven years ago and has been unstoppable ever since.
The shop is dedicated to all sorts of popcorn flavors and styles where you can get popcorn in a bag, as a cake, cut in slices, and as an ice cream sandwich. While there is a rotation of sweet servings like the milkshake editions, birthday cake special, and cookies and milk, there are also some savory options like the pizza-flavored popcorn and buffalo cheddar that can come with an extra kick.
“In the popcorn industry, it’s infinite what you can make,” Torres said. “We keep 10-12 staple flavors, like your cheddar, your caramel, pizza, and then we do rotation flavors that are either seasonal or a new flavor.”
In addition to the sweet and savory popcorn delights are other options, like ice cream specials, and nostalgic sodas and floats. It’s something special that people who grew up living up north miss, and they are pleasantly surprised to see again, according to Torres. She can make you a Snow White 7 Up, Purple Cow, Boston Cooler, Chocolate Egg Cream, Cherry Phosphate and your root beer and Coke floats if you have a craving for it.
“The people who come here are homesick or remember the good old days, and this takes them all the way back,” Torres said. “You’ve gotta see their expressions, it’s worth their weight in gold. I get to look at this and experience it and see someone from Brooklyn want an egg cream that once I make it, and they close their eyes as they taste it, you can see they just went somewhere back in time.”
There’s more to the shop than just the nostalgic flavors you can experience. When you walk inside The Popcornerie, you are transported back in time to the 1950s but with a whole different attitude. Everyone is welcome, no matter the color of your skin, how much money you have in the bank, or who you love. It was important to Torres to promote unity in the community, and she can feel the love in return as The Popcornerie’s popularity grows.
Torres is also an antiques collector and enjoys immersing her customers in an old-timey world. From the black and white checkerboard floors to the antique popcorn machine, the Coca-Cola refrigerator and red vinyl covered bar stools, plus the posters of celebrities like Muhammad Ali, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Marley, and Elvis — it’s a glimpse of a time long gone.
“I want it to be welcoming for all cultures, all races, genders, ages,” Torres said. “That was the concept of the way we built this — fun, clean music, and something for everybody. They don’t feel out of place, it’s a place of belonging.”
Something that’s a great treat for customers is coming in on the fourth Sunday of the month when a live band plays in the corner of the shop. The trio is led by the conductor of the Anclote Symphonic Winds, and together they play a mix of jazz, swing, Sinatra, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong.
One afternoon, The Popcornerie got a surprise visit from a busload of seniors living at Vitality Living in Hudson. Torres said she could see they enjoyed the music, the atmosphere, and of course, the popcorn.
Finding the perfect location was worth the wait. Torres spent a year circling the area of Little Road, S.R. 54 and U.S. 19 taking in the environment before settling on the plaza off Little Road. As a New Port Richey resident of 17 years, Torres said the plaza needed something like her shop for the youth and the seniors. She took in the number of schools and religious organizations surrounding the plaza and the accountability of how walkable it is.
Spurred on by the pandemic and the realization that life is short, deciding to go full-time in the popcorn business and open a brick-and-mortar, the continuing support of the community shows Torres she made the right move. If the popularity keeps up, Torres said she’s considering opening at a second location.
More than just treats, The Popcornerie serves up a side of hospitality with every bite
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