In 1934, a young entrepreneur by the name of John Baldwin
opened a tiny confectionary on Merchant Street in downtown
Decatur, Illinois. Mr. Baldwin was a type-printer by trade
and ran his printing business in the basement of the same
building occupied by his confectionary. He called his store
“The Popcorn Shop”, for his main product was popcorn,
a simple delicacy for a city recovering from the Great Depression.
The Popcorn Shop was successful from the very day it opened
because of the delicious products that were made daily from
scratch. The tempting aromas drifted through the doors and
out into the streets luring customers inside. Many Decatur
residents still fondly recall buying popcorn to take to the
movies in the old Lincoln Theatre across the street.
In 1945, Mr. Baldwin leased his thriving business to Del
Barnett and his wife Emily. Del and Emily carried on Mr. Baldwin’s
tradition of fine service and quality products and The Popcorn
Shop continued to grow. In 1946, Del and Emily Barnett were
given the opportunity to purchase The Popcorn Shop and did
so eagerly. They changed the name to Del’s Popcorn Shop
which reflects the pride Del had in his business.
Upon their retirement in 1975, the Barnett’s sold Del’s
Popcorn Shop to Terry Tomlinson, a young Decatur business
man. In his employ was Bob Barnett, the brother of Del Barnett.
Bob Barnett had been a loyal employee of Del’s Popcorn
Shop for over forty years by then, and it was Bob who passed
along the special recipes and magical techniques for making
Del’s famous popcorn. Mr. Tomlinson owned Del’s
Popcorn Shop for three years until he sold it to his cousin
Lou Ann Jacobs in 1978. Lou Ann Jacobs still owns the Decatur,
IL store, located at 142 Merchant Street, and in 2009, this
store will celebrate 75 years in business.
In
1980, Lou Ann Jacobs brought the fine reputation of Del’s
Popcorn Shop to Springfield, IL. She opened Del’s Popcorn
Shop at its first Springfield location at 210 South 6th Street
in historic downtown Springfield. Although Del’s Popcorn
Shop was new to Springfield, it enjoyed immediate success
attributable to duplication of the proven principles of fine
service and quality products established at the original store.
A short move to 206 South 6th Street was completed prior to
the sale of the store to Lou Ann’s sister Shellie Jacobs
in 1984.
Shellie Jacobs operated Del’s Popcorn Shop at that
location until 1999, when she and her husband Kurt Kohlrus
purchased a historic building across the street at 213 South
6th Street, next door to Abraham Lincoln’s law office,
relocating the store again. The historic architecture of this
building and the popcorn antiques and collectibles displayed
within create an authentic old-time experience. In 2005, Del’s
Popcorn Shop in Springfield celebrated its 25th anniversary
of business.
Joining his sisters in the popcorn business in 2002, Mike
Jacobs and his wife Trudy Jacobs opened the third Del’s
Popcorn Shop, known as Del’s Express, in Mt. Zion, IL,
at 1555 West Main. This shop was located inside a convenience
store and was a somewhat smaller version of the other two
stores. In August of 2007, Del’s Express was relocated
to 100 Debby Drive in Mt. Zion to accommodate the growth in
the businesses clientele and product lines. It now offers
the same full line of products found at the other two stores.
Products subject to availability.
Prices subject to change.
