Page 18 - Valley Table - June-August 2024

Pop Stars
At this gourmet popcorn store in Blauvelt, there’s a flavor for every palate.
countless hours in the kitchen with Cunney trying to get just the right taste and consistency for their caramel sauce. “I really took a gamble on myself, but I knew if I worked super hard and budgeted correctly, I could succeed.”
She was right. In May 2022, Cunney opened Bri Marie Gourmet Popcorn next
door to a popular Blauvelt deli, which she knew would increase her foot traffic. At any given time, customers can watch Cunney and her staff creating one of the 50 rotating flavors they offer—everything from the always-popular Oreo Cookies (popcorn mixed with crushed cookie pieces) to Buffalo Breath, a spicy treat that Cunney counts as one of her favorites, to Celtic Puffs,
a hulless corn puff coated in caramel. “I don’t want our product to have a tacky or artificial flavor, so I use the highest quality ingredients I can find,” says Cunney, who constantly experiments with flavor pairings and relies heavily on customer feedback. “We really pay attention
to what our customers are looking for.”
In addition to the retail store, Bri Marie Gourmet Popcorn has also become a popular fundraiser for schools and sports teams. (Visit brimariepopcorn.com for how to host one.) Popcorn can be purchased in-store (samples are available) or on her website, and Cunney is hoping to expand to small markets and grocers in the tri-state area this year—her popcorn
is already sold in 14 New York State Welcome Centers and at Long Island vineyards.
“I’m extremely shocked and thankful for everyone who has helped me get to this point,” says Cunney. “And now I’m trying to push and get out there even more.”
BY Mf
ICHELLE HAINER
Cunney thought of popcorn as “something you order when you go to the movies.” A tasty snack, but not a food that could be extraordinary. But then she graduated
from Quinnipiac University with a degree in business management in 2021 and couldn’t find a job. “I wanted to work in New York City, but there were so many Covid-related restrictions that it was really hard to find anything,” she says. “Then a family friend suggested I start a gourmet popcorn business, which I found appealing because I’ve always been into cooking and baking, and I’m a big snack lover.”
Since she knew nothing about selling popcorn, Cunney used her business skills to research the market
or most of her life, Brianna
and traveled to Iowa—the country’s corn capital—to learn about the popcorn- making process. High-end popcorn utilizes three different types of kernels: Mushroom, whose ball shape lends itself to candy coating, such as caramel; butterfly,
a more traditional buttery kernel; and white, the most delicate, which makes it ideal for cheesy, savory flavors.
“I knew this was a great opportunity and my parents and three younger siblings were really supportive,” says Cunney, now 24, who began blending sweet and savory flavors, and then inviting friends and family over to do blind taste tests. Her mom, Kerri (who is also one her business partners), spent
I really took a gamble on myself, but I knew
if I worked super hard and budgeted correctly, I could succeed.
16 TheValleyTable | June–August2024
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRI MARIE GOURMET POPCORN