SHORT PUMP, Va. — Two friends-turned-business partners are getting things popping near Short Pump.
Rialand Jones and Denise Brooks recently opened Lammar Marie’s Gourmet Popcorn shop at 3047 Lauderdale Drive in the Lauderdale Square shopping center.
The 2,600-square-foot store opened in August following a couple months of selling wares at farmers’ markets and the Bizarre Bazaar.
The shop sells a variety of both sweet and savory popcorn, from loaded baked potato to cotton candy flavors.
“We make everything here. The only thing we don’t do is grow the corn,” Jones joked.
A Fredericksburg native, Jones said he’s surprised life has taken him into the popcorn business. He’s an Air Force veteran with experience as a personal trainer, and has authored a self-help and healthy-living book.
He said he got the idea for Lammar Marie’s while DJ’ing a wedding. He struck up a conversation with someone who owned a similar shop in Fredericksburg, researched the business model and then brought Brooks, who he’s known since high school, in on the venture.
The shop, named for Brooks’ and Jones’ respective middle names, sells bags of popcorn ranging from $6 to $22.
