Joe Brown's Carmel Corn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Joe Brown's Carmel Corn |
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The Lloyd Center shop in 2022
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1932 |
| Current owner(s) | David Ferguson (2019–present) |
| Previous owner(s) |
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| City | Portland |
| County | Multnomah |
| State | Oregon |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 45°31′57.3″N 122°39′15.6″W / 45.532583°N 122.654333°W |
Joe Brown's Carmel Corn is a famous shop in Portland, Oregon. It is known for its delicious caramel corn and other sweet treats. The shop is located in the Lloyd District.
The business started way back in 1932. It was founded by George Brown and his son, Joe. Joe Brown's Carmel Corn has been making tasty snacks for a very long time. The shop's special caramel corn recipe has stayed almost the same since it began. People have always loved its flavor!
Contents
About Joe Brown's Carmel Corn
How It All Started (1932–1992)
Joe Brown's Carmel Corn was created in 1932. George Brown and his son Joe, who the shop is named after, started it. They had moved to Portland from Nebraska. Their first shop was in downtown Portland, near the Paramount Theater. This theater is now called the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
The Brown family soon opened more shops. They had another store on Southwest Washington Street. There was also one in northeast Portland's Hollywood neighborhood. They even opened a shop in Seaside. George Brown used to make the caramel corn in big copper kettles. He did this in the basement of their family home in Laurelhurst. The family also sold small bags of caramel corn and popcorn. They sold them at fun events like golf tournaments and dog races. All the stores stayed open until World War II started. Then, they had to stop making their treats.
George's daughter, Betty Ann Brown, worked at Joe Brown's in 1938. She met Gordon Kalk there, and they got married in 1940. Her parents retired not long after. The shops were closed for about 20 years. Betty was busy raising her two children during this time.
In 1960, Betty and Gordon Kalk opened a new Joe Brown's shop. It was in the brand new Lloyd Center mall. This shop is still open today. It is the last original store left in the mall!
Betty worked at the store very often, sometimes seven days a week. Other family members helped out too. Her son, Lee, bought the business around 1980. Betty kept making popular treats. These included candy and caramel apples. She also made caramel and cheese popcorn. Her peanut butter fudge was special, made with peanut butter and Ghirardelli white chocolate. She also made peppermint bark with peppermint candy, red food coloring, and white chocolate. Betty worked until she was in her mid-70s. This was when Lee sold the company in 1992.
New Owners and Continued Success
After the Brown family, Ron Ertler and Diana Ray bought Joe Brown's in November 1998. These siblings opened a small factory in Gresham. This factory helped them sell their products to other businesses. They started selling to amusement parks, grocery stores, movie theaters, and zoos in March 1999. Some grocery stores, like Food 4 Less, sold Joe Brown's treats.
Between 2003 and 2006, Joe Brown's had a shop in downtown Portland. It was on Southwest Sixth Avenue in the Transit Mall. They also still had the Lloyd Center location. Around 2003, Joe Brown's sold six kinds of popcorn. These included kettle corn and white cheddar cheese popcorn. Marc and Ratha Chouinard were the owners in 2006.
By 2010, there were four Joe Brown's shops. They also had an online store where people could buy their treats. Cyndee Kurahara, who grew up in Portland, owned the business for about five years. This was around December 2015. At that time, the shop sold caramel apples and three types of popcorn. They also offered other sweets like Icees, licorice, mint truffles, and Swedish Fish.
The special caramel corn recipe has stayed mostly the same since the shop opened. In 2019, about 200 to 300 customers visited the Lloyd Center shop every day. Joe Brown's also sold its products at Enchanted Forest. This is an amusement park near Salem. They also sold treats at the Portland International Airport.
The current owner, David Ferguson, bought the business in 2019. In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Brown's helped the community. They hosted an event called Feed the Family. For a week, they bought 60 to 75 meals each day from different restaurants for families. The pandemic caused the Lloyd Center mall to close for a while. Before the closures, Joe Brown's worked with Hana's PDX. This was a cart that sold New Orleans-style snowballs. Joe Brown's is a Black-owned business and continues to sell popcorn online.
In December 2022, Joe Brown's announced plans to open a second location. This new shop opened on January 1, 2023. It is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in northeast Portland's King neighborhood.
See also
- List of Black-owned restaurants
