Dwayne Walker spent his career in corporate America. He managed large teams, big budgets, and big operations, and he retired from a senior executive role to spend more time with his family. Today he is a husband, a father, a son, a man of faith, and the founder of Chicagoland Popcorn in Merrillville.
Ask him what he learned in all those years and he will not point to a spreadsheet. “The best part of every one of those jobs was never the spreadsheet,” he says. It was watching someone on his team find out they could do more than they thought. That belief is the reason his store exists.
In 2013, Dwayne opened Chicagoland Popcorn with one idea: build a place in his own community where people feel good the second they walk in. After years of building things for other people in other cities, he wanted to build something here, for the people he lives next to.
Popcorn, he says, is just the vehicle. It is simple, it is affordable, and it is joyful. “Nobody walks into a popcorn shop having a bad day on purpose.” It gave him the perfect reason to do what he cares about most, which is seeing people, serving people, and helping them become more than they were when they arrived.
Many of the young people who work at Chicagoland Popcorn are holding their first job. Dwayne and his team teach them how to show up, handle a rush, fix a mistake, and treat every customer like a neighbor. Some former team members have gone on to college, the military, or their own businesses. He counts each one as a win that has nothing to do with popcorn.
The same care reaches the people who walk through the door. The shop is safe, clean, and welcoming. Families can bring their kids and relax. Seniors can sit for a minute and talk with someone who knows their name. If you have a food allergy, the team will tell you straight what is in the bag. Nobody gets rushed, and nobody gets looked past.
The store also gives back. Chicagoland Popcorn works with schools, churches, and youth programs on fundraisers that put real dollars back into their work. When a local team wins, they celebrate. When a family in town is hurting, they show up. “That’s not a marketing strategy,” Dwayne says. “That’s just how my mother raised me.”
Of course, there is the popcorn. Chicagoland Popcorn makes gourmet popcorn by hand in small batches, with more than 250 recipes. Some are sweet and some are savory, and a few make you tilt your head and ask, “Wait, they did what?” Think cheddar and caramel in the same bag, dill pickle, Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie, and loaded baked potato. The shop even has a program that features flavors created by people in the community.
Popcorn is popped fresh every day at the Merrillville store, right across from the Albanese Candy Factory on U.S. 30. The shop ships to customers in more than 38 states. Its Frequent Poppers Club has more than 65,000 members, which Dwayne says still amazes him when he says it out loud. “That’s not a mailing list. That’s a community.”
Chicagoland Popcorn also offers corporate gifts, school and church fundraisers, wedding favors, and event catering. “If there’s a reason to bring people together, there’s usually a reason to bring popcorn.”
Chicagoland Popcorn is a family business with over 250 flavors and one store with a very big heart. Stop by, bring somebody you love, and, as Dwayne likes to say, keep things popping.
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