Podunk Popcorn

Friends,

I started Podunk Popcorn in 2013 with the goal of producing the freshest and best CT Grown popcorn. After about 9 years in business, it’s safe to say we did that. Unfortunately, like the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

I have decided to close Podunk Popcorn. We will continue to operate until all of our current product is sold out. The ultimate reason for closing pertains to time and resource management.

Operating Podunk Popcorn is only one part of my professional endeavors. In addition to working alongside my family at Dzen Tree Farm and plowing snow in the winter, I am also a full-time firefighter for the City of Meriden. Subtract out other involvements in town and life in general, and there isn’t time for much else.

Finally, I’m newly married, and my wife who used to help me with the business on a daily basis is now a full-time Occupational Therapist. I couldn’t be more proud of the hard work she’s put into her own career.

Lest you believe I’m giving up on farming; that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’m going to be applying my agricultural attention to helping my family grow Dzen Tree Farm. I’m proud to be the fourth generation of my family to farm here in South Windsor.

Writing these words brings me to the brink of being emotional. Starting a business at 17 and building it at the expense of experiences in high school and college can make it hard to let it go.
I've lost money and made it, been the victim of the weather, been humiliatingly laughed out of grocery store offices before I even finished my pitch, been written about in all the local papers and on the news a couple times too (they all need some stories for the slow days) and spent a few days in bed with a depression that many business owners have felt but few can describe. Despite all this, I realized I’m addicted to an agrarian way of life that my family has been unable to give up since the Great Depression.

It’s time to take a deep breath and reflect. Even if I didn’t have two nickels to rub together today, I’d still tell you I am a rich man.

Thank you for your support along the way. If you’re seeing this post, it means that you paid me, encouraged me and/or believed in me. This business has solidified my conviction that we can maintain a strong local economy despite the allure of a global idea of trade that has a tendency to forget the humans that are in it.

I’ve mailed out letters today to my wholesale customers informing them of this change. You can still place online orders until I sell out, which I anticipate to happen pretty quickly.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Feel free to message me if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Daniel J. Dzen
Owner, Podunk Popcorn