'Steeped in tradition': Batavia officials support deal with new popcorn depot owner

Mayor Jeff Schielke can name a few time-honored traditions that are uniquely Batavia. The downtown popcorn stand is one of them.

A staple of the city since 1929, the small, red concession stand has been woven into the memories of longtime residents and visitors, he says.

A new proprietor now intends to carry on the history of the business, known as the Batavia Popcorn Depot.

Aldermen this week supported a license agreement with Batavia resident Talitha Mueller for use of a city-owned property at Houston and North Water streets, the popcorn stand's most recent home. The full city council is expected to vote on the measure Monday.

"If you ask anybody who grew up here in the '30s, '40s, '50s, everybody's got memories of this," Schielke said. "It's very steeped in tradition and something that I think is a very viable community asset to us."

The business was launched more than 90 years ago by friends Norm Freedlund and Buddy Anderson, both 14 at the time, who built the shack at its first location on South Batavia Avenue. It has moved throughout the downtown, sitting for decades at the corner of North Water and West Wilson streets before moving a block north to an oddly shaped property that once housed an electrical substation, Schielke said.

The popcorn depot was operated for years by Robert Pepper and his son, Jack, until a sign in the window indicated the 2019 season would be their last, City Administrator Laura Newman said.

As a frequent customer who had gotten to know the Peppers over the years, Mueller and her husband, David, jumped at the opportunity to take over the business, she told the Daily Herald earlier this month. She also hopes to provide employment opportunities to Batavia High School students with special needs.

City officials characterized the popcorn depot as a benefit to the community and a prominent part of the downtown historic district.

"I wholeheartedly support this," Second Ward Alderman Alan Wolff said. "I think it's a really cool, old-time Batavia thing that has maintained itself through just about everything."