This Once-Popular Popcorn Chain Used To Be A Shopping Mall Icon

Popcorn is the best walking around food there is, and, if we're being honest, it's the best sitting down food, too. Basically, it's the perfect treat for whenever you need to be fueled and entertained at the same time, like in the movie theater, at an amusement park, or, back in the day, at the mall. Shopping malls may not be the bastions of culture they once were, but we can bask in the memories of swinging our GAP bags around our wrists while munching on Karmelkorn, the popcorn chain that used to be a staple of so many trips to the mall.

Karmelkorn was founded in 1929 in Casper, Wyoming, and the brand originally sold its caramel corn and popcorn out of storefronts before moving into malls in the 1960s. By 1982, there were 270 Karmelkorn locations in 43 states, so there was a very good chance that whenever you were shopping, that irresistible sweet, salty, fresh smell of Karmelkorn would draw you over, beckoning you to buy a bag. Of all the mall court food chains we wish would come back, Karmelkorn is up there. It just seemed to quietly disappear, like many others. But mall popcorn is just such a good idea! And plenty of people agree.

"Our local mall had a Karmelkorn 50 feet inside the main entrance," one Reddit user commented on a post about the popcorn chain. "That glorious smell hit you immediately. Such a smart place to put the store. The smell stayed with you the whole time you shopped, and it was easy to stop and buy some on the way out the door!"

"I remember taking my youngest sister to the mall, we'd hit up the Karmelkorn shop first then over to the Orange Julius shop directly across," another wrote. Does that not sound like a perfect afternoon? Unfortunately, the Karmelkorn chain is no more. But the company still exists and you can find Karmelkorn brand gourmet popcorn in grocery stores and online.

Today, Karmelkorn sells everything from traditional butter popcorn to kettle corn, caramel corn, and cheesy popcorn, too. You can buy sampler bags, holiday-themed buckets, or — for the real ones — party bags, which come in either five or 10 gallon sizes. It can also accommodate large-scale custom orders and gourmet popcorn fundraisers. The Karmelkorn brand may not be what it used to be, but it's still delivering quality popcorn to those who appreciate it most. Hey, malls may be mostly a thing of the past, but at least you can somewhat recreate your teenage days by ordering yourself a 10-gallon bag of caramel corn and some Mrs. Fields cookies and chowing down while online shopping.