What’s Popping

Essential Popcorn Fridays keep small town theater going during COVID-19

By Kevin Hieronymus

Popcorn and theaters have been a staple of family entertainment for generations. You just can’t go to the movies without getting popcorn.

When the 2020 coronavirus pandemic shutdown the Apollo Theater in Princeton and thousands like it nationwide, the popcorn became the bread and butter for Princeton’s Jay Schneider.

He instituted Essential Popcorn Fridays at the Apollo Theater, making large bags available to those who were craving the tasty treat. To say it went over well at the start would be an understatement.

Schneider was overwhelmed with orders over the phone and could hardly keep up with the high demand. The first couple weeks, Schneider said they popped up and sold about 150 bags a night.

He had no idea selling just popcorn would go over so big.

“I had absolutely no idea

on how many we would sell. I thought, ‘Oh if we sell 50, that would be a great number,’” he said.

“I always say we are a candy store with entertainment. That we can sell just popcorn and that amount, that’s just crazy.”

The popcorn sales, Schneider said, “helps us pay our bills and keep the lights on.”

He has gone to online orders to better handle the demand.

The bags of popcorn are the equivalent of four buckets that are sold at the theater for $5.50 a bucket, making the bags a $2 deal.

“It’s exactly four buckets worth. I didn’t want to false advertise anything, so I measured my scoops,” Schneider said.

Schneider, a German native who bought the Apollo in 2009 after moving to his wife’s (Lara) hometown, joked he would like to take praise for the idea of selling just popcorn.

“There’s theaters doing it around the country. Even the name (Essential Popcorn Friday) was suggested by one of our customers,” he said.

While the Apollo will deliver the popcorn to your front door, he said most people will come to pick it up. Schneider has found there to be popcorn connoisseurs all around Bureau County, including Princeton and surrounding communities.

“We’re very grateful for all the support,” he said.

Schneider said he definitely plans to keep selling popcorn on movie nights whenever they open their doors. When that happens, he’s just not sure.

“Movie theaters in Illinois are in Phase 4. Looks like June 26 is the first time we could open,” he said.

Schneider plans to open that date, but he’s not sure. There’s no new movies available they could play as the movie industry pushed their releases back, because of the pandemic.

“Even when we open, it’s going to be a struggle, especially for small theaters,” he said.

But there will be the popcorn.

Left: Lara Schneider and her daughter Uli, 9, load up a bag of popcorn for the Apollo Theater’s Essential Popcorn Friday night. The popcorn sales helped the Schneiders offset the shutdown of their theater during the coronavirus pandemic. The Schneiders have owned the Apollo since 2009. Photography by Kevin Hieronymus Center: Apollo’s marquee advertises Essential Popcorn Friday on Princeton’s Main Street. Online orders were established quickly to help manage the high demand for popcorn. Submitted photo Right: The size of one Apollo Essential Popcorn bag is the equivalent of four buckets sold at the theater. Owner Jay Schneider measures each scoop to be fair to his customers. Submitted photo