$250 Gold-Flaked Popcorn Coming to Armitage Storefront

The concept for one local popcorn shop is pure gold—literally.

At 2008 N. Halsted Rear, Berco's Popcorn is temporarily operating out of the same window as Interurban Cafe & Pastry Shop. But a buildout in the adjacent storefront at 808 W. Armitage is officially under way, a company representative said on Wednesday. Lucky for Berco's, industry experts say the gourmet popcorn market has never looked more appetizing.

Among the company's offerings is a 1-gallon tin of "Billion Dollar Popcorn", which will run customers $250 a pop. The fancy kernels are flavored using organic sugar, butter from Vermont Creamery, Nielsen Massey Bourbon vanilla and salt from the Danish island, Laeso. Oh, and they're covered with 23-karat edible gold flakes. A 6 1/2 gallon tin is priced starting at $750, Berco's website says. 

In the realm of high-end popcorn, the timing for Berco's couldn't be better, sources say. Food tracking firm Sterling-Rice Group recently forecasted that fancy-flavored kernels will be among the industry's top trends in 2013.

That prediction was echoed by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade in New York and TIME Magazine, according to reports. 

"Today’s popcorn has gone seriously decadent, flavored with everything from black truffles to Campari to wasabi," says the Specialty Food Association. "Americans eat around 16 billion quarts of popcorn a year, according to The Popcorn Board, and artisanal, handmade varieties are garnering an increasing chunk of what was nearly a $1 billion market at the beginning of the decade."

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Berco's offers both sweet and savory small-batch popcorn varieties that are made using top-of-the-line natural ingredients, Laura Fruen, the company's chief operating officer, said.

One-gallon tins at the shop range in price from $27 for blends including "Big Time Butter", to the previously mentioned "Billion Dollar" blend.

When the store opens, customers will also be able to whip up their own mix-and-match creations using Berco's plain, popped kernels, she said.

Fruen said the company will likely expand beyond the Armitage storefront, but she declined to specify where. Interior demolition work there wrapped up at the end of March.

"We're hoping (to open here at) the end of this month or early next," Fruen said at the walk-up window Wednesday. "As of right now, we're just focusing on popcorn. It's what we know and what we love."

Berco's founder, Matt Bercovitz, is a Lincoln Park native who has a flair for confection, Fruen said. 

"I’ve always loved food," he writes on the company website. "It’s been an important part of my life and my family’s traditions for as long as I can remember. I’m often asked what my favorite food is and every time my answer is the same—'sweets.'"

Bercovitz did not return multiple phone calls from Patch seeking comment. The walk-up window is open seven days a week between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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