Flavored popcorn proves to be a winner for Goody Gourmets in Glendale
Back in 2005, Jacqueline Chesser began her business online. Selling her specialty popcorn and handmade chocolates, she moved Goody Gourmets into a small retail space in Shorewood a year later. There were times the small shop was so full with orders she had to create a path for customers.
She knew she needed more space, and thought she’d found her spot on Brown Deer Road. When news media came asking about the building she rented being up for auction, she was devastated. She also knew that if she was going to keep growing her business she needed to do something different.
It took longer than she anticipated, finally opening in March 2021, but she now has the building she always wanted, Goody Gourmets LLC, 6369 N. Green Bay Ave., Glendale. Not only does it have more space, she has a drive-up window for curbside pickup that she’s found to be very popular.
Goody Gourmets is open Monday through Thursday 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays. Orders can also be placed online at goodygourmets.com/shop for shipping.
Family and food went together blissfully
For me, food has always been a joy of mine. I started cooking with my grandfather when I was a child. We made any and everything. My family is from the South. When they moved here, he would cook for the family. He shared a lot of recipes that he grew up eating from his hometown, from desserts to main course meals, mainly southern dishes.
I spent so much time in the kitchen with him, and I also enjoyed eating what we prepared. He would always say “You better learn to cook it.” So that's what I did.
Her delicious journey shaped her business
I started off on a journey. I had no idea it would lead me to popcorn. I knew I would be cooking, because it was what I enjoyed. I was trying things to see how I felt when I did it. I made cakes and desserts. So do I want a bakery? I started making cakes for family and friends. No, it’s definitely not that. Cakes and desserts were fun, allowed me to be creative, but spiritually it didn't connect with me.
OK, do I want to open a restaurant? To find out, I decided I would cook for 200 people. Everything in my body was ‘you're not doing that again!’ So it wasn't that.
Then I made a cake for someone, but I couldn't make the (decoration) roses in time. I ended up making chocolates, and everyone was at the event asking about the chocolates. They were interested. We were on to something, and I enjoyed doing it so much. I wasn't exhausted. When you take a passion and turn it into a job, you sometimes don't like it anymore. I didn't feel like that about chocolates.
Building her business plan around popcorn
I wasn't comfortable just opening as a chocolate store. I started traveling. You have to find something else you like making just as much. I started discovering all these different flavors of popcorn while traveling. It opened a whole new world. I'd never seen or heard of some of the flavors.
I came back to Milwaukee and started playing and experimenting with recipes. Then I got scared. What if people don't like it? So I sat on the idea for 10 years, out of fear.
Eventually I got over the worry of rejection. You put yourself out there. For some people the flavors are going to be on, it is not personal. You want to know what people like and what they don’t. This is a business.
Becoming a mentor to others was inspiring
I love to help others in general. It is part of who I have always been. When it comes to competition, yeah, there's competition, but somewhere along the line I gave up the idea of believing that. There is enough room for everybody …
There is something more to what I am doing. There has to be. I love what I am doing (with Goody Gourmets), but I was bored. How are you bored and this busy? I’d already created what I needed to create. I started paying attention to how I felt.
While I loved making popcorn, when someone would call and ask about a business idea, that lit me up. Because I'm kind of an introvert. I never thought of myself as a coach or mentor. I decided to get certified as a coach. I started working one on one with aspiring entrepreneurs. Now I have had a couple schools reach out about working with students.
I was looking for partners to collaborate with in the community, so I accepted a challenge to do a pilot program working with young, aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services. Doing that, you become aware of the young people in this community. Not everybody is interested in college, but everyone has something to give. That’s my next project, and I can’t tell you more just yet.
More:For winter munching, nothing beats a bowl of freshly made, hot buttered popcorn
Making her move to new store wasn't easy
The shifting of spaces was such a difficult time. Each time there was a shift, it was a difficult decision. Starting in the Shorewood location, it is a 400-square-foot facility. We very quickly outgrew the space but simply had to make it work. Then trying to find something in that area that was larger yet affordable was extremely difficult …
We found a location on Brown Deer Road and were there for about three years, things were great. It proved to be a wonderful location more centrally located and had parking. But one day someone from a local news station came in and said hey, do you know the building is up for auction? The uncertainty took me by surprise. How can I not ever again be in a position of worrying about what will happen in the space? I decided to look for a space of my own.
It sounds simple. … Everything that could have gone wrong did. It was something that was slated to be completed in one year. It took four years to complete. Once we got over the hurdle of a contractor, we ended up in the middle of COVID. It was a difficult transition, but one I refused to give up on.
The entire reason was getting to the place of being able to coach. That drove me. I am thankful. We are in a space that is conducive to being able to produce faster and more volume. Everything and everybody has a space, it is still centrally located and has ample parking. The journey was worth it.
Popcorn plus ... chocolates and baked goods
We’re still very well known for our popcorn, and I will always keep that as a priority. When we moved to our Shorewood location, we had a focus on chocolates because that’s what I wanted to do. Customers let us know we love your chocolates, but we really love love love your popcorn. That’s what made us popular. We’ve expanded the popcorn line and keep the focus on that.
By the spring I will be able to bring back some more things, expanding baked goods and the beverages we make. We’ll have those as specials. Because I’m from the South, I make lemonades and teas, things people have enjoyed over the years. When it comes to the bakery, the pound cakes and things, those will be back on certain days. We don’t want to be a bakery though. We don’t want to be the place where we’re baking so many things it takes us away from popcorn.
Flavor fun with popcorn proves popular
We’re at about 21 different popcorn mixes now. The most popular is still the caramel and cheese mix. Ones that have gotten very popular include jalapeno, the lemonade, banana pudding popcorn, the white chocolate. Those flavors that are more like desserts have become more popular, especially for weddings. The pizza and barbecue have also become incredibly popular.
Delivery and drive-up are a big part of the business
That's a huge part of our business now. On our website, people are able to order curbside and just drive up for pickup at the window. Then out-of-state people go to the online store and we can ship it. Recently we added GrubHub, our first time using a third party delivery service.
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Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email psullivan@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Goody Gourmets in Glendale finds its niche with flavored popcorn
