Chicago Kernel

Yum! Love that you can combine the flavors! Try getting the Chicago mix and spicy flavor mixed together. Good bar snack. Would go again and take some back to Detroit.

Just called them at 7:35 PM. I am staying at Congress Plaza. They said they are open until 8pm, the gentleman even said they were open for another 20 minutes or so. At 7:38pm I show up, both workers see me through the locked doors and acknowledged me. Yes, that’s correct, they closed their doors 20 minutes early. Their sign clearly says they are open until 8pm today, Sunday September 6^th. They are smiling. I’m here to buy the group I’m with some popcorn for the movie. 8 buckets. Doesn’t seem to interest them. Why tell me you are open for another 20 minutes when you have already closed your doors? I just got the guy’s attention behind the counter at 7:55pm from outside the window showing I just wrote a reveiw. He smiled and just laughed. He put his hand to his throat and said «We closed!» I said «I just called you and now you’re closed before you actually close?» He just repeated to me «We Closed.» If I were the manager of this place and cared anything at all about customer service, I would totally check security footage to see the timestamps and the fact these 2 are turning away business by closing before their scheduled close time. Someone even came up just after I got there and asked me «are they already closed?» I pointed at the sign and said «The sign says they close at 8pm» She walked away a bit upset. Feel free to respond back to me as I have date and time stamped photos of the phone calls, and showing their doors are locked before closing time. Just pisses me off. I gotta tell the rest of the group now we have no «FAMOUS» Chicago Kernal popcorn. Bad experience!

Great snack option. I got a bucket (a very good deal) to share at an outdoor concert.
The cheddar/​caramel mix offered the best of savory and sweet. Caramel thoroughly coated and crisp. Cheddar tasty without being too salty.
Once people got over the awe of the jumbo bucket, we dug right in and kept going back.
And, I never ran into a popcorn seed!

I know Garret’s is more famous but they’ve got more flavor options at Chicago Kernel! Plus who could say no to bacon cheddar popcorn?!
Thanks to belly bites I got a free small bag, they even allowed me to mix flavors. The white cheddar is definitely better than the golden cheddar. The popcorn seems a bit flat and could be more crunchy.
P. S. You’re allowed to sample before you buy!

They are always closing and putting away the fro-​yo toppings before the store closes. The fro yo toppings are stale. You can hear the employees bitching about the boss and lack of training. The credit card transaction ID doesn’t match the store name, which freaked me out when I was looking at my credit card invoice.

Very good popcorn. If you are tired of Garrett’s popcorn give this place a try. Variety of flavors I purchased the cheddar and the salt and vinegar which both were finger sucking good lol Each came in a resealable bag that kept my popcorn fresh for 2 weeks. Cashier was very helpful in selecting my choices and service was fast in and out which is necessary since there is no parking. I can’t wait to return to try more.

While the popcorn is outstanding, the workers are quite eager to close their registers earlier than their hours say. I came in at 7:40, and they weren’t going to sell me anything. I’m a tourist so it’s quite an inconvenience that I didn’t get there in time to taste their popcorn that brings back memories. If you plan to go, go early. or else the employees will stare blankly at you and say they are not selling anymore popcorn today.

I don’t get a place selling froyo that closes at 8, especially in the summer. But If the sign on the door says that you close at 8, then the door should not be locked at 7:45 as it was tonight. So unless you’re feeling lucky, just go to Baskin Robbins around the corner. They’re open 24 – 7.

Chicago Kernel, nicely done!
It goes without saying that CK blows right past Garrett’s. In short, it wins hands down because it is fresher and tastes better. In particular, the Chicago mix is so much better because the caramel corn is buttery and the cheese corn is cheesier. CK offers buy one get one half off and bags their popcorn in sealable bags. If that is not enough to sway you, try their froyo.
This location (S. State Street) is in an area with several 15 minute parking options. The other free standing is in Millennium Station and their popcorn is also sold in the Gluten Free concession stands at Wrigley Field. A City Classic bag (second smallest bag) is $ 7.26 and bottled drinks are $ 1.72. Fountain drinks are higher.
If you want to eat your goods asap, CK has both indoor and outdoor seating options which other popcorn corn places fail to offer.
My only gripe is the lack of towelettes. Every experienced Chicago Mix popcorn fiend knows your fingers are gross after a few dips in the bag and paper towels do not do it. And orange fingers are not a good look…
Seriously, Oprah put Garretts on the map and it is worth noting that CK was not an option when she sent the masses to the competitor. I suspect that if Queen «O» had it to do over, she rethink her vote.

Popcorn was really good, I got the Chicago mix, which had the caramel corn and cheddar corn mix. Definitely would return!

This place has yogurt and popcorn. They have some interesting popcorn flavors such as a spicy cheddar, salt & vinegar and cheddar bacon. They let you sample as well. I tried the bacon and cheddar, which was okay, but ended up buying a Chicago style classic mix. I figured I didn’t need to sample that. I probably should have because I really didn’t care for it. It tasted artificial and the cheddar overwhelmingly outnumbered the caramel. It wasn’t balanced at all. I think I paid about 4 or 5 bucks for the grab and go size. I do like the bags that the popcorn come in. They are resealable. Customer service was okay. The lighting seems a bit dark though.

YUM!!! Today I went for a walk on my lunch break and stumbled across Chicago Kernel. I remember hearing a commercial for them on 1390AM, so I was even more eager to give them a try. Surprisingly it was not crowded at all at 12 noon, however that didn’t deter me. The young lady was very friendly and helpful. I asked for a sample of the Bacon Cheddar. It was very good. I ordered a small bag, and she told me I could get a 2^nd for 50% off. So in addition I got the Chicago Mix for a friend. The popcorn was very fresh and the perfect snack. The store itself looked nice, modern and clean. They even sell frozen yogurt/​ice cream. Can’t wait to go back and try something else.

Very friendly staff, great popcorn. We stopped in on a Saturday afternoon and we were the only customers. The girl working there let us try as many flavors as we wanted and everything we tried was good. We tried the pizza, the caramel, and the cheddar. All were great so we ended up getting a mix of everything.
The only reason I’m not giving them a 5 is that they didn’t have any options with nuts in them. Otherwise a great experience!

The Carmel and cheese is much better than Garret’s. And the variety of salt and vinegar to white cheddar is mouth watering. I would recommend it to anyone

Just went for my first time today. The staff was super friendly and was able to answer all the questions I had. I tried a sampling of about 4 of their popcorn’s all of them were super fresh and delicious. They were much better than Garret’s, which has gone down in quality over the last few years. I also love that the bags they give are resealable and I was told the popcorn should last about 30 days.
I will be back for sure and recommend Chicago Kernel for anyone that wants to try something better than the others in town!
Suggestions: Try the chipotle cheddar if you like a little spice in your popcorn!

Late yesterday afternoon I stopped by Chicago Kernel, to take home some gourmet caramel popcorn. The two young women at the counter were very friendly (they seemed happy to have a customer). I chose the «Windy City Weekender» bag, which was pricey at over $ 17 (a bucket of popcorn like you’d get at a movie theater was over $ 19!). The popcorn was not at all warm and tasted slightly stale.

I was eager for Chicago Kernel to open up since I love popcorn, especially the sweet kinds like caramel. I finally decided to try it and wasn’t pleased. I arrived 15 minutes before closing time, so maybe it was my fault and the popcorn had been sitting around for a while. It was a little over $ 4 for a small bag of popcorn which felt considerably smaller than a Garrett’s small since Garrett’s is much wider.
I ate about 5 pieces of popcorn that tasted REALLY off. I mean there was just something wrong with them. Like if someone sprayed them with Windex or something. The rest was just ok. I honestly prefer a $ 1 bag of Cracker Jack.
I suggest heading to Garrett’s for CaramelCrisp at least. Way better value preposition and consistent quality.

Just tried this place and already excited to go back!
I’m not a Chicago style popcorn fan, so I went in for some frozen yogurt, which was delicious. The set up is similar to Red Mango, putting your own toppings on and paying by the weight, which I love because I love making my own proportions. There was a ton of choices for froyo flavors and a good amount of toppings; I was disappointed to find no raspberries, but the blueberries were super fresh and tasty. The price didn’t seem too bad either, I got a lot for my $ 6.
The staff was really friendly, they seemed really bored. More people have to go try this new spot!