Oklahoma Man Turns A Class Project Into A Popcorn Empire

Popcorn! It’s the perfect snack for a good movie or a sporting event, but DJ Boles has taken this popcorn thing to the extreme. 

The whole thing started when Boles took a retail management class at OSU, really just to graduate  

“So, I got in it kind of on accident, to be honest, and the whole project was to make a business plan to find a niche in the market in Stillwater,” said DJ Boles owner of Oklahoma Gourmet Popcorn.  

He deliberated for a while and did some research, realizing there were no popcorn stores in Stillwater.  

“I started getting really confident in this thing. So, I made the paper, made up all sorts of flavors. None of those flavors we actually have now, because I was just making up names,” said Boles.  

DJ’s grade on the paper? A “C”  

“I took that paper to a bank. That February of my senior year 2016 I actually got a small business loan, and it was looking like it was going to happen,” said Boles.  

He was approved for a small business loan for a popcorn business. But there was still one problem. 

“I still don’t know how to make popcorn,” said Boles.  

He found a popcorn store in Texas that was willing to help him out.  

“I went down there for one day, in like April, and he kind of showed me how to use all the machines,” said Boles.  

Boles and his dad began work on the stores and when the equipment started arriving, reality set in.  

“At that moment, I’m just like, what do I do?” said Boles.  

His first batch didn’t go quite as planned.  

“The first batch I make, I screwed up the oil, it goes everywhere. It’s super salty, all that stuff. I love salt, and my mom was up there trying it, and she was like you’re going to kill somebody,” said Boles.  

Eventually he got the correct balance and now he boasts over fifty different flavors of popcorn.  

“You just mix them and try it until it tastes really good, I mean that’s it. You just mix it up and if it tastes bad you try again, you add something you take away something,” said Boles.  

Boles is notorious for trying some not so traditional flavors, like lemon cake, dill pickle and loaded baked potato. 

“Thanksgiving was coming up and I was like what can we do? And I think one of my employees in Moore was like we should do a loaded baked potato. I was like that’s crazy,” said Boles.  

Popcorn is made fresh in their two locations, in Moore at 1021 SW 19th and the other in Edmond at 3209 S. Broadway, Suite 129.  

The store also ships their product. For information visit their website www.ogpopcorn.com or like their Facebook page @Oklahoma Gourmet Popcorn