Still Popping After 100 Years
WDCB’s Gary Zidek catches up with Donna Wakefield, the owner of the Little Popcorn Store in downtown Wheaton.
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“We have the best support. We’re sitting right outside the store, and if you turn around and look, we have a line of people waiting to get in. And we have a line like that year-round. When it was like 5-degrees outside, we have people waiting to get in. The town supports us and people come from all over.” - Donna Wakefield, owner of the Little Popcorn Store, talking about the support the shop receives from the Wheaton community and beyond.
Donna Wakefield is the owner of the Little Popcorn Store.
The Little Popcorn Store officially turned 100 this year.
Originally created by a man named E. Claire Brown, he simply put a roof over an alleyway in downtown Wheaton and started making popcorn. Old newspaper stories report that people from all over the area would come to Wheaton for Brown’s popcorn. His daughter, Erma, eventually took over the business. Years later she sold it to the Wakefield family, who ran a restaurant in Wheaton. For decades, Bill Wakefield operated the Little Popcorn Store. He passed away in 2019, and now his sister, Donna Wakefield is continuing the 100 year old legacy.
A look down the narrow passage that is the Little Popcorn Shop, candy lines the wall to the left, popcorn can purchased at the register.
People still line up to buy fresh popcorn and penny candy. There’s not really a secret recipe, though the shop still does pop corn the old-school way with a hand-crank over heat. Wakefield says the shop sticks to its classic recipe of white corn cooked with vegetable oil and just a little bit of salt.
A new batch of freshly popped corn is ready to go.
