Juneteenth celebrations kick off with the Juneteenth Foodways Festival on June 14 at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, and Mirror Indy is a proud partner. The free event will celebrate chef Dolly Johnson, the first Black caterer and chef at the White House, and feature great food, cooking demonstrations from Second Helpings and reenactments from Freetown Village.
To get ready for the festival, we talked to the owners of Market Square Popcorn in Castleton Square Mall, Jonathan Warren and Michael Barnett, to learn more about how they keep it poppin’. The two launched their popcorn business and named it after their first store on Market Street near Monument Circle, and then moved to their current location, where they’ve grown and now look to the future.
Lavanya Narayanan: Two guys, killing the popcorn game, but so much more than what meets the eye — tell us, how did you both meet?
Jonathan Warren: Mike and I met in our junior high school orientation at Ben Davis High School. And we’ve been friends ever since.
Q: Does that mean you’ve been talking “popcorn” ever since junior high?
Michael Barnett: While the idea’s definitely been “popping” around in our minds, we had some detours along the way. I went to Ball State after high school, and Jonathan went to the military. And we weren’t really in touch. But one day, we ran into each other in the parking lot of the YMCA and got to talking and, well, here we are.
Q: And were you guys working in the culinary or entrepreneurial spaces before this?
JW: I was a food inspector in the military and after that, I got my degree in microbiology and chemistry from Bowling Green University in Kentucky. I was working in food science and even started a food-safety consulting company. Mike was in business and management for 15 years. So it was a good match.
Q: What should a Market Square first-timer try?
MB: The ironic thing is that despite all the innovative options we make, butter is always our bestseller — everyone wants a classic. But we’re known for our “sweet heat.” It has undertones of cayenne pepper and sweet buffalo, but it’s definitely not hot. Honestly, we just call it “flavor.”
JW: We also have the “Market Square mix,” where you can mix as many flavors as you like.
Q: Any new flavors in the works?
JW: We have a kettle popcorn that we should be rolling out in the next quarter, so keep your eyes peeled. We tried it out at the Indiana Artisan Market and NBA All-Star weekend and, well, it was definitely a hit.
Q: As Black business owners, what does the Juneteenth Foodways Festival mean to you?
JW: You know, I’ve never gotten a chance to really speak about this before, but I couldn’t help but remember the nursery rhyme, “Jimmy crack corn, and I don’t care…”
It speaks to the fact that a lot of us in the African-American community don’t know our history all the way, but we embrace our roots and our legacy, both culturally and here in Indiana, and are well aware of some of the struggles that Black-owned businesses have had here and will continue to have.
Mike and I approach it as, “we understand the community we’re in and understand it, but we compete with everyone. We understand the responsibility we have, especially with us being on the Juneteenth board and possibly more ‘out there’ in the community as far as in the media.
We see that eyes are on us in all of our businesses. It’s kind of humbling, and it just further re-emphasizes the need for us to do really good business in general — for all of us.
MB: We really pride ourselves in making sure we put the best product out there. Every single time. And that’s why we’re called ‘Indiana’s finest popcorn company.’
Q: Any tips for home popcorn makers to whip up a successful batch?
JW: Well, make sure the oil’s hot! But it’s important to know that there are different genomes of corn, like butterfly, mushroom, and so much more — it goes way beyond just white corn and blue corn. For instance, certain varieties of corn are better for coating, while others are better for snacking.
The type of oil used makes a big difference too. There are different mixes of oils that can serve for a drier or wetter mix, so-to-speak. And then you have air-popping as a mainstream method as well.
Q: On the same note: Any “don’ts” or red flags when you make your own popcorn?
MB: Oof, so many, but the main one is oversalting, or more broadly speaking, overseasoning.
Q: What about some of the popcorn trends you’ve seen on the market?
MB: We saw a lot at this year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo, but to me what I’m mainly seeing is a lot more healthy popcorn, as well as popcorn that’s sustainable and environmentally-aware.
JW: We’re also seeing a lot of protein-packed popcorn or even a bit more out there: CBD popcorn. It just goes to show that there’s so much you can do with popcorn, and we’re looking forward to what the future holds.
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