Garrett Popcorn – Mall of Georgia

I grew up eating Garrett’s Popcorn, ironically in a mall. I lived within walking distance of Evergreen Plaza on Chicago’s south side and the cheese & caramel popcorn mix was a weekly tradition in our family. Other than home made popcorn and Jay’s brand store bought popcorn, Garrett’s was really the only popcorn I ever ate for the first 25 years of my life. They are firmly and fondly embedded in my heart and childhood memories.
So you can’t imagine how my heart raced when I heard they opened a location in Atlanta. I have been planning on making the trek down to the city for months now and suddenly my sister and daughter come home from a visit to the mall with a bag of Garrett’s cheese popcorn. They described it as «FRESH out of the bins and still warm» when they received their bag full.
I felt like a king that day being fed grapes from a silver platter. It was just as good as I remembered from my childhood, instantly transporting me back to my days walking Evergreen Plaza with my mom. There was an area in the center of the mall kinda like a central square with plants and a fountain. We would take the escalator down and Garrett’s was right there on the right. I had regular meltdowns as a kid if my mom did not stop here for a popcorn treat! If I“m remembering correctly, they also used to sell these caramel balls of popcorn that were my favorite treat!
My GOD, that was over 40 years ago and it seem like just yesterday (as I bit into this bag of popcorn from the new Mall of Georgia location). I had to go back the next day for more and now that my family in Florida knows it’s here, they want me to ship them a container full immediately! LOL
SIDE NOTE: Garrett cooks their popcorn practically hourly, so stale popcorn is almost unheard of. I think people who are not used to popcorn like Garrett’s may THINK it is stale because it is not crunchy, especially the cheese. They use a liquid like cheese to coat the popcorn, this making it both less crunch AND outstanding at the same time.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I may be totally biased, but I don’t see how anyone could think Garrett’s isn’t some of the best cheese popcorn on this planet! Something is wrong with your taste buds if your mouth doesn’t explode with happiness at first bite!
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Stopped in Garrett’s yesterday and bought a Jumbo bag of the Chicago (Garrett’s) Mix (Cheese and Caramel). The cheese popcorn was soggy and stale. $ 14 for stale soggy popcorn? Avoid this place if you have any taste buds or taste in general.