Women's History Month: St. Popperville in Thomasville offers kettle corn year-round

Donna Saintvil offers up to 50 flavors of kettle corn and half a dozen fresh-squeezed lemonades at St. Popperville Kettlecorn and Lemonades on Main Street in Thomasville. {Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}

You don’t have to wait until county fairs in the fall or other festivals to have fresh-popped kettle corn — just follow your nose to Main Street in Thomasville.

St. Popperville Kettlecorn and Lemonades, at 120 W. Main St., has been selling a wide variety of kettle corn flavors and fresh-squeezed lemonades since mid-November 2021. Owner Donna Saintvil noted since they cook the corn in a large stainless steel “popper” fueled by propane under a tent outside the storefront, the smell wafts over the area. “The smell when we’re prepping outside brings in a lot of people.”

While the basic sweet and salty kettle corn is what most people are familiar with, St. Popperville offers up to 50 flavors of the treat.

“Not at any one time, but we do change the flavors each week,” she explained. “You can do just about any flavor of popcorn. We do sweet. We do savory.

“We did a taco fried chicken popcorn and people still ask for it,” she said of one of the more unusual flavors.

The most popular flavors include caramel, white cheddar, salt and vinegar, white chocolate and, for those who like it hot, Buffalo cheddar and jalapeno. A tart lemon poundcake flavor is also a best-seller.

This basket of kettle corn shows the color and flavor combinations Saintvil can create at her shop. {Vikki Broughton Hodges/Davidson Local}

“The kids love the sour patch — it’s like the sweet and sour gummy worms. And I have to keep the grape in stock.”

Saintvil said a special Valentine’s Day mix of chocolate and cherry flavored kettle corn was a hit, as well as chocolate-covered strawberries she offered just for the occasion. She said the strawberries can be pre-ordered anytime.

Another recent hit was kettle corn with the colors of the Super Bowl teams. For example, for Cincinnati Bengals fans, there was a mix of orange and black cherry flavors to represent the orange and black.

Saintvil can customize flavors and hues of the kettle corn for parties and showers, such as blue and pink for baby showers and gender reveal parties.

Lemonades, limeades and orangeades, as well as combinations such as peach-mango and strawberry-blueberry drinks, are sold at the shop.

Candied apples, in a variety of shades, and caramel- and chocolate-covered apples are also available. Saintvil is considering adding banana pudding and strawberry shortcake desserts when she gets another refrigeration unit in the store.

Of course, the holiday season was busy with people purchasing big tins of kettle corn for gifts. Many businesses purchased large quantities to give as gifts to clients.

In fact, the former Geico insurance employee said she knew she was on to something several years ago when she brought some of her kettle corn to co-workers and her boss ordered 400 bags for promotional gift baskets. “That boosted my spirit,” she admitted. 

Saintvil found someone who was selling his kettle corn equipment and got a few basic recipes from him. She searched online as well and got some ideas from YouTube videos “and then I just started getting creative.”

The initial reason she pursued the kettle corn business was because her husband, Delyns, was such a fan of it and they could no longer find it at the farmers market they had patronized. “I just decided I was going to learn how to make it on my own.”

The couple began the business with a mobile unit in 2018 and sold their treats and drinks at Wake Forest University football and basketball games, Winston-Salem State University football games and Bowman Gray Stadium on race nights before opening their shop.

“I enjoy what I’m doing so it’s worth it. I have regular customers who come in every week.”

Hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.