PrintThe power duo behind Papa Dean's Popcorn
Owning a popcorn shop wasn't something that either former model Tara Staglik, 37, or former corporate secretary Katherine Graves, 55, had planned on. Not a kernel of an idea had popped into their minds along those lines — until two years ago, that is.
Dana Butler
Katherine Graves and Tara Staglik at Papa Dean's in San Antonio
That's when Tara's new stepdad, Papa Dean, offered to sell her his popcorn business. On the face of it, the prospect couldn't have been all that exciting: Since 1989, the San Antonio company had been housed in the same Alamo Heights strip mall (the city's first), complete with dingy gray walls and a single dusty cash register that rarely sang.
Enter the dynamic duo, a fated pair if ever there was one. Katherine is Tara's birth mother — they reconnected when Tara was 18. Katherine moved from San Francisco to San Antonio when Papa Dean's popped on the scene. With paintbrushes in hand, the two covered the walls with a fresh coat of caramel (what else?) and added a "popcorn bar" where customers can saddle up and try out "shots" of all 25 flavors, from blueberry to chocolate to peanut butter.
For even more atmosphere, they have tunes turned up loud enough to hear 'em — Old 97's, Mike McClure, and other homegrown music. Using the same trusty 1958 popcorn cookers that Papa Dean's has always used, the gals have their sights set on making Papa Dean's the biggest name in popcorn since Jiffy Pop.
C&I recently popped in and spoke to Katherine and Tara about popcorn, growing a business, and the allure of San Antonio.
Cowboys & Indians: So, Tara, you think that you were destined to be in the popcorn business?
Tara Staglik: I never thought I'd have a popcorn shop, but it must have been in the stars. Every good Southern girl has a charm bracelet. When I was engaged, I went to James Avery and I remember they had this gold popcorn box with popcorn coming out of it, so that's what I bought. That was in '93, and everything was fine. But then Dad passed away; Mom was single and met Papa Dean two years ago, and all of sudden ... I bought a popcorn shop.
C&I: But wait — how did it happen?
Tara: Jokingly I would say, "Hey, Papa Dean, whenever you want to sell that shop, let me know," and he'd say, "I'll pay you to take it off my hands." It was a running joke. And before he and Mom got married, he said he was serious. He never made a dime [on the popcorn shop]. He said, "It kept me from watching too much Andy Griffith and drinking too much wine." He was open when he wanted to be open. The last two years, he broke even.
C&I: What was the first thing that you did when you and Katherine took over the business?
Tara: He always had a good product, but he needed fresh blood, passion, a girl's touch, and a theme. He didn't even have a logo. All we did was come in and make it cuter — made it look better. He already had a great customer base, and people came in even though there were ugly gray walls and no personality whatsoever. One day I was looking down at my cowboy boots and thought, How can we make it more Texas? So we just thought, How about a belt buckle and a belt? And we made that our logo, and it's on every can of popcorn. We doubled sales the first year and paid him off in a year.
C&I: You also developed some new products, such as the Texas Trio popcorn ... .
Tara: Right. We normally put three different flavors in our tins [they come in 2-, 3.5-, and 6.5-gallon sizes], and I wanted to do something special for Texas. The first thing I found out was that Papa Dean's Texas Honey Pecan was not made with Texas honey or Texas pecans, so I called a friend from Pearsall, Texas, where I grew up, who is a fourth-generation beekeeper, for some Mesquite honey. These bees have been in the same location since 1925. Turns out my friend Todd Youngblood knew someone with a pecan orchard 10 miles from the bee farm, so that's where we get our pecans. Then we started developing barbecue popcorn. It took us almost a year to get it right. Now we have Barbalicious popcorn that's caramelized with real barbecue sauce — it's not powder — and it's such a big deal. If I'm wrong I'll send you a check for $200, [but I'm sure] we are the only place to do real barbecue sauce on popcorn. The third flavor is chile limón, made from guajillo chiles and lime, and we grind it down like a flour.
C&I: Other new flavors since you two came on board?
Katherine: Our biggest seller is one that we introduced! I went to Chicago to this famous popcorn store in July and tried a flavor called Chicago Mix. I was so inspired by this cheese-caramel flavor that we developed something similar, and we named it Chicago Blend.
C&I: Any flavors you introduced that have bombed?
Katherine: We introduced a salt-and-vinegar and had to do away with it because it didn't sell.
C&I: Tell me about the Kernels of Wisdom, the little notes that you put inside each tin.
Katherine: We came up with the concept because I opened up a fortune cookie one day and I had the idea to give people a little something more. Now we have about 40 categories and we're always adding new ones. We customize them, too. So if someone is expecting twins and handing out Pocket Popcorn — our two-cup party-favor-size bags — at a baby shower, we make sure every Kernel of Wisdom is about twins. Texas-themed kernels are our defaults. We have all these other categories: pets, diversity, poetry, and teacher kernels. They're just a little fun, quirky something that sets us apart from everyone else.
C&I: What's the appeal of popcorn?
Katherine: It's just an American snack. I think that popcorn has never been marketed to the extent that it could be. It's a healthier snack than potato chips or Fritos, and it's filling because it is a fiber. People love the texture because they love crunchy stuff in their mouth.
Tara: It's a comfort food that doesn't weigh you down. There's something quintessentially American, and almost patriotic, about popcorn. Think about the Indians and corn. They introduced corn to the cowboys — what could be more American? Apple pie, baseball, and popcorn. There are stories about popcorn on the trail — I love that. Popcorn was a peace offering between the settlers and the Indians.
C&I: Are there any flavors that you don't like?
Tara: There's this one, dill pickle, and I can't stand that flavor. I'm just not a pickle girl, but it's one of our top flavors and has been for 15 years.
Katherine: White cheddar jalape"o, only because I have a very wimpy palate and don't do anything hot!
C&I: Your personal favorite?
Tara: Snickerdoodle, which is a new flavor that we developed. I just love snickerdoodle cookies and I used to put sugar and cinnamon on my popcorn at home. We just followed the cookie recipe, and our snickerdoodle rocks — we use real butter. Other popcorn shops may have snickerdoodle popcorn, but it's a mix.
Katherine: Peanut butter. I have always adored anything peanut-butter-flavored, so it's quite natural that I gravitated toward this flavor. Plus, I love its chewy texture — yum.
Guillermo Velez
The Popcorn Girls are known for advertising that's as provocative as their popcorn. Here, a model luxuriates in a tub of the crunchy stuff.
C&I: How much popcorn do you sell?
Tara: We sell 1,200 gallons a day during our busy period.
C&I: How is your popcorn different from the popcorn at other places?
Tara: We use oil while other shops use air — they tell you it's because it's healthy for you and all this bull, but it's air and it's free. There's something inherently different about oil-popped popcorn and air-popped. Oil-popped is tasty.
Katherine: Also, we give people a different experience. Never does someone come in here once and we don't see them again. They become either an addict of the experience or an addict of the popcorn. People say, "I needed some popcorn, but I needed people to smile at me." People have discovered a place in the neighborhood where they get uplifted.
C&I: What does Papa Dean think about what you two have done with the business?
Tara: Every Wednesday about 1 p.m. or 1:30 p.m., he comes shuffling in the store, and he looks around and shakes his head and says, "How did you have people in the store? It's a Wednesday!" In his time, he had a $23 day. We have $1,000, $1,200, $1,500 days. We have a steady stream of people. Every single time he comes in, there are customers.
C&I: Ever get tired of popcorn?
Tara: I will get sick of a flavor but never get sick of popcorn. I OD'd on chile limón last Fiesta [San Antonio's annual citywide festival, held in April, which began in 1891 to honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, and has grown into an all-out celebration of San Antonio's history and rich, diverse culture]. Then I just moved on to something else. But I've picked it up again. Now we're working on wasabi-flavored popcorn — why not? We also love our sushi.
C&I: What are your goals for the business?
Tara: I would love for it to be that when you go to San Antonio, you go see the Alamo and the missions, but you also go to Papa Dean's Popcorn. I want to have three or four Papa Dean's. I want to start with San Antonio, because I love it here and I don't want to live anywhere else. I want Papa Dean's snow globes. I want Papa Dean's VW Bugs. I want Papa Dean's belt buckles with our logo on them. I want Rocketbuster boots to do our logo on a pair of boots. I have a list of T-shirts I want to make. I have all these ideas, and Katherine does, too, and somewhere in the middle, it'll all work out. In the meantime, I'm just happy that I get to put on my jeans and boots and Dr. Pepper lip gloss every day.
Issue: September 2009
