Big River Popcorn opens in Mt. Pleasant

Big River Popcorn now has opened a new location in Mt. Pleasant.

The popcorn shop is located on 114 N Main St., Suite 101.

This is the second location, the first in Henry County, for the popcorn enthusiasts. The original location can be found in Burlington.

Cody Flietner, whose husband Greg owns the shop, said they decided to come Mt. Pleasant because of the community.

“This idea really started when I started at Sunnybrook as the marketing director,” Flietner said. “It really opened my eye at how true the community is here, and how everyone loves each other and supports each other. It great that small businesses support one another, everyone is about small business here. There’s a real authentic feel here.”

As for the location, Flietner feels it is a great spot because people are always circulating around the square. He says there’s always something going on, and there’s always some sort of activity.

“There’s always a pulse in the center of town,” he said.

The support has been great so far for the shop, Flietner says. They’re happy that they were able to get the shop open before Old Threshers. They have experienced some of their biggest selling days in company history over the course of Old Threshers.

The popcorn shop offers a variety of different flavors like buffalo ranch, bacon cheddar, dill pickle, caramel cheddar, caramel apple, and cookies and cream to name a few.

The shop was first created in 1974, by Robert Moehlman.

Moehlman started the hobby in his basement of his home, before creating Big River Popcorn with three flavors: Butter, Chesse, and Caramel Corn. The shop became a staple in downtown Burlington.

The business was sold in 1981 to new owners, and over the following year new flavors were introduced. In 2006, the store moved from Central Avenue to 801 Jefferson Street.

Greg Flietner, who is Moehlman grandson, gained ownership of the business in 2016.

Since taking over the shop, Flietner has launch an online portion of the business, with shipping options to all 50 states.

Big River Popcorn is open for wedding receptions and other events.

Flietner has made Big River Popcorn a household name, created a plethora of new seasonal and year-round flavors.

He dubbed the slogan, “So Corny We’ll Make You Pop!”

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