Just in time for the candy-coated Christmas holidays, Popcorn Works and Sweet Shop is opening on Small Business Saturday – Nov. 27 -- in the historic former Pump House waterworks building in Peoria Heights.
“We’re ready to go,” said Pete Clarno, who owns and will run the business with wife Linda and daughter Erica Ogden at 1201 E. Kingman Ave., across the street from Tower Park in the shadow of the Heights’ most iconic feature.
The Clarno family is subletting the property from Kim Blickenstaff’s KDB Group, which in turn rents the structure from the Village of Peoria Heights. The two parties oversaw the renovation of the Depression- era Pump House, which was built in 1934 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) “with Roosevelt money.”
Many of the original features remain, though otherwise the building has been reinvented for the 21st century as “a mini-Willy Wonka chocolate factory,” said Clarno, giving it an utterly unique, updated but simultaneously retro feel.
Of course, what you can purchase there is the primary draw. Indeed, the irresistible aroma of fresh popcorn greets you before you even enter the store – more than 30 flavors and growing every day. This coming holiday season is well represented with the likes of Christmas Cookie, Grinch Pop, White Chocolate Peppermint, etc., no small amount of it popped after hours by the signature gnomes that populate – and before long, perhaps over-populate – the place. Don’t say you weren’t forewarned if you happen to trip over one. Expect a naming contest for the whole crew in the near future.
Meanwhile, coming to a Popcorn Works shelf near you is a virtual smorgasbord of gourmet candies, gummies, taffy, fudge, boba beads, Pixy Stix, etc. As the weather warms, expect shaved ice and
concession staples such as grilled hot dogs – might the “wonder dog” return? – nachos, and so much more, all of which can be enjoyed on the backyard patio.
“Parents hate me and dentists love me,” joked Clarno, who ultimately sees this as not just a place to satisfy one’s sweet tooth but as a community gathering spot, not unlike Velvet Freeze and the Ben Franklin store were in the Heights, once upon a time.
Anticipate lots of bicycles and baby strollers parked out front come next spring. Longtime Heights residents should recognize the Clarno name.
Pete grew up in the Heights, formerly managed Oliver’s Pizza and owned the gone-but-not-forgotten No Wake Zone Bar and Grill on Galena Road. He began his career in the golf industry, making his way through the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama before returning to central Illinois – “We wanted to raise our kids back here,” he said – as the golf course superintendent at Mt. Hawley Country Club, where he stayed 15 years. He still gets the urge to jump on a riding mower and start manicuring the fairways every now and again.
His family’s fondness for the popcorn he’d make at home prompted his comeback from retirement – that and the chance to put not only the mom and the pop in the business but a daughter and, someday, perhaps the grandkids as well. When word got out that the Clarnos were looking at potential locations, boyhood pal and Peoria Heights Mayor Mike Phelan called with an opportunity too good to pass up.
“This location is a dream,” said Clarno. “We had looked around. Nothing else fit. It’s a match made in heaven.”
Renovating a building of this age, and in a way so far afield from its original purpose, posed its challenges, but that patience has been rewarded.
“For the Village, it’s really a two-fer. A historic building that had been vacant has been brought back to life, and something that had been draining dollars from Village coffers is now generating revenue,” said Phelan. “The final product is attractive and functional. It’s just a plus all the way around.”
“It took a while, but I think we got it right,” said KDB Group CEO Greg Birkland. “A historic structure has not only been saved, it has been made useful again. The Clarno family and Popcorn Works are the perfect fit for this building and for this location.”
“It’s a nice project. I’m giving back to the community I grew up in,” said Pete Clarno, who opens the doors at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will also have a booth at the Heights’ inaugural Kris Kringle Market at Tower Park on Dec. 3. “Now’s the time to take what has been a negative year and end it on a positive note.”
So come for the goodies, come for the architecture, come for the company and conversation, come for the sights and sounds and aromas, come for the gnomes, just come to Popcorn Works and Sweet Shop. Follow the business on Facebook and on its website.
