About Garrett
About Our Popcorn
Since our very first days in Chicago at 10 West Madison Street, Garrett Popcorn Shops has maintained its dedication to fresh, hot-air popped popcorn. We continue to use only the highest quality ingredients, and Garrett Popcorn Shops never uses fat or oils in the popping process. We know that our popcorn costs more to make, but our CaramelCrisp® and CheeseCorn™ are worth it. We’re sure you’ll agree....
We start with our privately grown blend of kernels, pop them right before your eyes (guaranteeing freshness!) and then gently fold them into our three-generation-old, secret family recipe. This commitment to our recipe and to our rich Garrett popcorn history also extends to our suppliers and their highest quality ingredients. In fact, we are proud of our long-standing relationships with our suppliers, many of whom date back to our first days in Chicago.
For over half a century Garrett Popcorn Shops has focused on fresh, delicious, comfort food. We limit our popcorn-based selections to Plain Popcorn, Buttery Popcorn, CaramelCrisp® (which you can choose to be blended with cashews, macadamias or pecans) and CheeseCorn™ . Our simple menu allows us to focus on what we do best: delivering an honest product that generates lines of historic proportions outside of our retail locations. It’s all part of the fun, part of the mix, part of the tradition ....you never know who you’ll meet in line.
Customer satisfaction remains our highest priority. Twenty years ago we received requests to produce a mix of our CaramelCrisp® and CheeseCorn™. Our customers were right – the sweet and salty combination is wildly pleasing. Originally called "The Mix," customers also inspired its new name, "The Garrett Mix®," again reflecting our commitment to Chicago and to tradition.
In 2002, Oprah selected "The Garrett Mix®" as one of her "Favorite Things" exclaiming, "It is so good! I love when you mix the cheese with the caramel!" Again in 2005 Garrett was selected as one of Oprah’s "Favorite Things" in a holiday show dedicated to the relief workers of Hurricane Katrina.
Garrett Popcorn has always been a family-based company that has secured its place in popcorn history through honest, hard work, and today’s management continues in that tradition. Our families are much like your families. We lead busy, engaged and full lives. We value convenience, and we know you do too. To respond to our contemporary, fast-paced lives, Garrett Popcorn Shops has made it easier to order our different kinds of popcorn and tins online. All of our products are easily ordered with just a few clicks of your mouse.
Visit us online or at one of our convenient retail locations. We sincerely thank you for keeping Garrett Popcorn Shops "A Chicago Tradition...Since 1949."
Popcorn History
Popcorn’s exact origin is unknown; however it has been established that both corn and popcorn come from the Americas. Most experts believe popcorn is the result of wild grasses being crossbred for hundreds of years. Evidence found by archeologists suggests popcorn was eaten or in some way used by people inhabiting the Americas hundreds of years ago.
Some of the first Europeans to come to North America were interested by the popcorn they found Native Americans to be eating. French fur traders around the Great Lakes in the early 1600’s encountered and were equally fascinated by members of the Iroquois nation using heated sand inside of pottery to pop the kernels.
Modern popcorn history began in the 1890’s, when popcorn became a favorite treat in the U.S. A tasty delight that has been with the country since its inception and popular for more than a century, popcorn is an American mainstay. Today, the United States is writing the next chapter of popcorn history, as almost all of the world’s popcorn supply comes from the U.S., where it is grown in more than 20 states.
Garrett Popcorn Shops is proud to contribute in making this history more delicious than ever!