Charlie Mack has made a good business for himself serving a delicacy most people associate with festivals, carnivals and county fairs.
“That was one of the main reasons why I opened up a storefront,” said Mack, who began his business with a food truck. “People are smiling extra, once they find out we’ve got a storefront in their city.”
Mack launched Mack’s Poppin Kettle Corn in 2018. He watched a kettle corn food truck become such a hit at a fundraiser for a youth basketball team his sister was coaching in Virginia, that became a successful storefront business. A year later, with some encouragement from his sister, Mack was able to acquire the equipment to try the kettle corn business for himself.
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“I haven’t looked back since,” said Mack, who indeed began by setting up at fundraisers and festivals.
Mack, a veteran of both the Marines and the Army, was a military brat himself, hailing originally growing up all over until spending his teens in Alabama. He originally hails from Columbia. His father retired in the Augusta in the 1990s. He has strong local connections with both areas. After starting Mack’s Poppin Kettle Corn, he would go traveling again – selling and serving flavored popcorn at events throughout the country.
By the time he had decided to open a permanent location in Evans, he already had a foothold in the CSRA, having done events at local school and set up shop at both the Augusta and Evans markets.
“I thought we might as well put a storefront there to support the community like they support us,” said Mack.
The shop opened its brick-and-mortar location in November 2020. Though it was amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mack says, locals received the kettle corn business with open arms, enjoying the wide variety of flavors and the free samples.
He is still setting up its trailer at events, including, Mack says, more children’s birthday parties. It also delivers, and Mack says he intends to expand its routes to reach a wider customer base.
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The Jungle Fever, which has caramel mixed with white chocolate; and the Chicago Mix, which is caramel mixed with orange cheddar, are among the most popular of the shop’s over 40 flavors. Other flavors include the parmesan garlic, pizza, bacon and buffalo. Mack says many of the flavors he developed largely by experimentation.
“That’s the beauty of kettle corn,” said Mack. “You can mix it up and everything, see what you’ve got; it’s kind of like ‘Weird Science.’”
The business is located at 4272 Washington Rd. in Evans. For more information visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mackspoppin/, or its website at https://mackspoppin.com/.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
