PORT ANGELES — For two years, Kim Wahto hasn’t been able to answer the same question she’s been asked at least every hour of every day that she rings up purchases for customers at Swain’s General Store.
When is the popcorn coming back? She finally knows what to say.
After a hiatus during which COVID-19 mandates forced the store to stop selling its beloved popcorn, Swain’s will fire up its popper Wednesday and brace for what store manager Don Droz expects to be a crowd of people who have been waiting, wishing and looking for its return.
“We always knew we would bring it back,” said Droz, who has worked at Swain’s for 25 years. “With our 65th anniversary coming up, it was an easy decision to make that the time.”
No one seems to remember exactly when Cliff and Bee Swain first began selling popcorn at the store they opened in 1957, but it has become a tradition that staff know better than to mess with.
That means the same price of 25 cents for the same white paper bag featuring Swain’s mascot Willy, and the same big, round and fluffy “mushroom” popcorn with just the right amount of salty chewiness.
The only thing that’s changed is the oil, and that is only because the store’s regular supplier went out of business during COVID-19.
“We had to scramble to find oil that tasted like the oil that we had used for many years,” said Laurie Minor, a Swain’s buyer who has been in charge of purchasing its popcorn supplies for 20 years. “Dairy Fresh Farms deserves credit for helping us find a new supplier. We did a taste test, and the new oil tastes good.”
There’s definitely a technique to ensuring every bag of Swain’s popcorn lives up to its reputation. The correct temperature, order and amount of ingredients, and timing when to bag the popcorn and start a new batch are critical, said Wahto, who has been making popcorn since she began working at Swain’s in 1993.
“You can put the kernels in too early when the popper isn’t hot enough, or add too much oil or salt,” Wahto said.
She will be guiding new staff who have no experience making the store’s signature item.
“It takes a few tries to get it right,” she said.
So that nothing was left to chance, staff made several test batches to make sure the popper worked correctly and the popcorn looked, tasted and smelled exactly how people remembered.
And the quarter it will cost you for a bag? Swain’s doesn’t make money on its popcorn, but there was no talk of raising the price, Droz said.
“This is something we do for our customers,” Droz said. “People tell us, Swain’s just doesn’t seem the same without it.”
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
