“It’s a God thing, that’s what it is,” Johnie Brown told Sapulpa Times on Friday afternoon when talking about how his business, Brown Insurance Agency, had ended up in the building at 1 S. Main.
In a similar way, Johnie and Julie Brown don’t believe that it’s any accident that GiGi’s Gourmet Popcorn—hoping to open the first week of July—is now going to be opening in the space in the back of the building.
Though it might not have always looked that way.
Moving locations several times since 2000, when Brown Insurance Agency first opened, Johnie says the chance to buy the building they now find themselves in came along by chance, and at first he didn’t go for it.
“Wasn’t sure he was serious,” Johnie said. “But eventually he came back to me said ‘No really, you need to buy my building,’ so we talked, and it all worked out,” he said, adding again, “It was a God thing.”
GiGi’s is so named because the couple’s grandson Braxtyn affectionately calls his grandmother Julie “GiGi” (pronounced GEE-GEE) and it pairs well with the word “Gourmet”.
The space where GiGi’s is located—12 E. Dewey—is formerly the home to Able Nation, a local clothing brand. Able Nation moved to another location shortly before closing up shop earlier this year.
After Able Nation left, the Browns decided to try their hand at opening a new business for themselves in the space instead of renting it out. The transformation has been remarkable.
When you walk through the door, colorful slats of wood along the back wall make it look like it’s been built out of Lego bricks. LED lights blink different colors, underneath a series of metal letters that spell out “POPCORN”.
Julie Brown points out the clear tube running the height of the counter with a sample of what they’ll sell. “We’re going to have a tube for each kind of popcorn we sell,” she says.
POS systems are set and ready to go. The place looks like it could open tomorrow, except for the lack of anything to sell.
Originally hoping to be open in time for the Route 66 Blowout, the tornado that came through Memorial Day Weekend—pardon the pun—blew any chance of that happening, when the roof of the building swung down from the top and crashed through the front window.
In the center of the room, there’s a green table in the center with pyramid-style shelving filled with jars that are, for now, sitting empty. Miraculously, none of them were broken by the debris that came crashing through the window. “I was so thankful for that,” Julie says.
Through the window you can see an adjacent room with additional shelving and bucks on racks, waiting to be filled with everything a sweet-tooth could want.
So what will be in those jars, and in those racks of baskets?
Popcorn, and lots of it. You’ve had your basic buttered and probably gotten kettle corn at the fair. While they’ll have these, they’ll have so much more, Johnie and Julie told us.
“Think ranch-flavored, think ghost-pepper-flavored,” says Justin, a son who’s helping with the build out and marketing side of things.
But the sign says more than popcorn; announcing nostalgic candy, Route 66 Soda, and another item they’re particularly proud of—fresh fudge.
“We’re going to carry twelve to fourteen different kinds of fudge,” Julie says. You can hear the excitement in their voices as they talk about all the great things the new store will carry, and they fact that they’re opening a nostalgic candy store on Route 66 isn’t lost on them.
“There’s one gourmet popcorn store in the whole world that’s located at ‘the crossroads of the United States,’ and we’re it.” Johnie says.
