By Lily Belcher
The last thing one would expect to be met with upon walking into a popcorn store is the sweet smell of candied green apples. While they might think they had walked into the wrong place, they would quickly realize it was just Owner and Founder Kimberly Gregory popping a fresh batch of green apple popcorn.
The Popcorn Spot, located in the Riverview centre at 7441 U.S. Hwy. 301 in Riverview, is home to more than 70 flavors of gourmet popcorn, made-in-Florida Big Olaf ice cream, flavorful gummy bears and ice-cold sodas. The shop is clean and spacious, filled with music and a counter of jars with brightly colored rainbow popcorn.
Walking past the ice cream and popcorn counter, popcorn aficionados can see the popcorn machine at work and freshly popped popcorn being coated with sweet or savory flavoring. Popcorn enthusiasts can pick up a bag (or two) of their favorite flavors, such as classic, movie theater or dill pickle popcorn.
Gregory and her husband opened The Popcorn Spot in January after visiting a popcorn store in Orlando three years ago.
“I love popcorn,” said Gregory. “Friends of ours knew we were going to an Orlando Magic game a couple of years ago and asked us to stop into a gourmet popcorn shop near Amway Arena. We were amazed at all the different things you could do with popcorn, so we figured we’d bring the idea to Riverview.”
With support from their customers, The Popcorn Spot has weathered the coronavirus shutdown by allowing patrons to pick up or get delivered their favorites from The Popcorn Spot.
The Popcorn Spot offers a 20 percent discount for its flavor of the week, which is announced on its social media pages on Tuesdays.
Gregory said her goal for The Popcorn Spot is “to be able to be a staple in the community and a place where people can come get great customer service, strengthen relationships [and] make lifelong memories with The Popcorn Spot at the heart of it all.”
Popcorn buffs cannot get their fix at the cinemas right now, but The Popcorn Spot will supply a fresh bag for you to finish before the movie starts at home.
For more information on The Popcorn Spot, visit https://thepopcornspottampa.com/ or visit its Facebook page @ThePopcornSpotTampa or Instagram page @tampatps.
