Popular popcorn, fudge, ice cream shop moves to new location

Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers
Updated ·2 min read

Editor's note: This story has been updated since the new location has opened.

A popular popcorn, fudge and ice cream shop has moved.

We Be Poppin closed its standalone building on U.S. 1 at Avenue J in Fort Pierce after its last day of business Nov. 26. Tim White and Blenda Price originally opened the shop in September 2020.

They reopened Saturday at a new location in the Taylor Creek Commons strip plaza with Publix on U.S. 1 at the North Causeway in Fort Pierce. They previously hoped to be open in January but were held up by the permitting process, according to their Facebook posts.

We Be Poppin co-owner, Tim White, makes a fresh batch of kettle corn on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, at the store’s location at 1101 N U.S. 1, in Fort Pierce. The business, which sells fudge, kettle corn, popcorn, taffy, ice cream, lemonade and various other sweets, opened on Sept. 14.
We Be Poppin co-owner, Tim White, makes a fresh batch of kettle corn on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, at the store’s location at 1101 N U.S. 1, in Fort Pierce. The business, which sells fudge, kettle corn, popcorn, taffy, ice cream, lemonade and various other sweets, opened on Sept. 14.

We Be Poppin expanded with locations in Lakewood Park and Sanford, and continues to be at the Downtown Fort Pierce Farmers Market and the Hobe Sound Farmers Market.

At the original location, “forced to move” was spray-painted in black on the We Be Poppin sign, but TCPalm didn't know what happened.

We Be Poppin blamed its move on “our landlord’s decision to sell the property and not honor our two-year lease extension,” according to a post on their Facebook account.

The building at 1101 N. U.S. 1 was listed for sale Sept. 1 for $499,000, said Cindi O’Connell of OC Realty, who bought the property in May 2020 for $185,000. We Be Poppin had 120 days to move out and vacate the property by Dec. 5, she said.

We Be Poppin, which sells homemade fudge, kettle corn, popcorn, taffy, ice cream, lemonade and various other sweets, opened on Sept. 14, 2020, in Fort Pierce. “We had every concern. We are vendors and there was no place to earn money after COVID hit, so we had to do something,” said co-owner, Tim White, not pictured, who owns the business with his girlfriend, Blenda Price. We Be Poppin also has outdoor seating and a to-go window.

O’Connell said she originally planned to sell the property, but then decided to lease it instead because she wants a business like We Be Poppin to open there.

The three-year lease started at $1,800 per month and had an option for a two-year extension, she said. After O’Connell added a $17,000 grease trap to the building, she renegotiated the lease to be $2,400 per month, she said.

O’Connell said she wants to find a business that will serve the community the way We Be Poppin did — not another used car lot.

Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Facebook @TCPalmLaurie. Email her at [email protected]. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: We Be Poppin in Fort Pierce moves popcorn, ice cream shop

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