The countdown to retirement has officially begun at POPtions! in Ladue. The gourmet popcorn shop is located in The Village at Schneithorst’s, at Clayton Road and Lindbergh Boulevard.
After 11 years in operation, owners Andrew and Marilyn Freundlich will shut down the popcorn poppers on December 28, just after holiday season, the busiest time of the year in the popcorn business.
Twelve years ago, after becoming the victim of downsizing, Andrew began investigating franchise businesses but “couldn’t come up with one he had a lot of confidence in,” Marilyn recalled. Then it occurred to them: While St. Louis has a handful of signature foods and food companies, a signature popcorn label didn’t exist. The couple began researching and testing an upscale, affordable, version of the everyday staple. POPtions! was born.
Along with the popular cheddar and caramel varieties, POPtions! offers 25 flavors (available by the bag or a 2-gallon/ 3.5-gallon tin, with the option of a customizable label). They collaborated with other area businesses—Bissinger’s, McCarthy Spice and Blends, and RL Mueller—to create flavors from the basic (Salt and Pepper) to decadent (caramel corn tossed with Bissinger’s white and dark chocolate, which also happened to be the biggest seller). The elaborate flavors weren’t cheap, but they were memorable. (Our favorite is Caramelt Crunch English Toffee.)
But after 11 years, they said, “It's time to turn off the poppers, start enjoying life and doing some of the things we've had on our bucket lists for quite some time.”
For the rest of the month, however, the poppers will likely be at full tilt. With corporate and holiday gift giving, the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas accounts for a whopping 40 percent of POPtions! sales. (And giving POPtions! for the holidays comes with an unofficial guarantee: There will be no re-gifting.)
