BUCYRUS–Business is “popping” for a Bucyrus couple who have made a sweet and salty snack a household name in Crawford County and beyond.
Sweet Thangs! Kettle Corn, which is owned by Bucyrus natives Lee Ann Grau and Jeremy Ray, is a staple at the Colonel Crawford Fall Festival, Cruisin’ with the Cops Car Show, Lap Night in Bucyrus, and other community events throughout the year.
For them, “Life is salty, love is sweet, one kernel at a time.”
“We pop a lot of corn,” said Ray, who mans the 80-quart stainless steel kettle and wooden paddle as the sizzling kernels start to pop. “We always tell everybody that it started out as a hobby, but it’s definitely more than that now. We pop at least twice a week.”
In addition to the food stand, bags of their signature kettle corn are also sold at the Market at Pickwick Place in town. They started out delivering a dozen bags a week four years ago but now supply up to 100 bags each week to keep up with customer demand.
Sweet Thangs!’ familiar red and white canopy tent tempts popcorn lovers wherever it goes. But until April 14, 2018, the kettle corn stand was owned by Bob and Jonny Price, who called their old-fashioned product “Aunt Maggie’s Kettle Corn.”
In fact, it was a fluke that Grau and Ray ended up buying the food stand. She was standing in a long line for a bag of “Aunt Maggie’s” corn at the Colonel Crawford festival with her mother, then ended up chatting with the Prices while they started popping another batch.
“Jonny said they were thinking of selling the business,” Grau recalled. “Honestly, I don’t know what possessed me to do it. My mom looked at me like I was crazy.” But a few months later, she and Ray bit the bullet.
“Jeremy goes, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s just do it,’ and we purchased it.”
Bob Price regularly hung out with them, a friend and mentor who showed Ray the art of popping. Oil, corn, salt, and sugar, he told them, were the main ingredients, but the mixture had to be consistently “stirred with love,” and “you have to become one with the kettle.”
On July 6, 2018, Sweet Thangs! was born. And the two, business partners and real-life partners, started hitting the road on weekends, trailering the stand to Hobo Day at the T & OC train station, the Crawford Farm Machinery Show at the fairgrounds, and the Nevada car show, among others.
Price, who died April 24, handcrafted the wooden paddle as well as the sifter and lid for the kettle.
“Bob and Jonny would come around and you could see how proud they were of us and how great it was that we were able to grow the business,” said Grau. “It definitely keeps us busy.”
Grau, who does the salting and serving, gets help taking orders from her mother. Other family members and friends also pitch in at larger events. “We’re thankful for family and friends that support us, and the community, our customers, and Pickwick for giving us a chance.”
In addition to the small bag and popular seven-ounce size, the couple also offers a full kettle of popcorn for birthday parties, wedding receptions, and other special events. Because life is sweet for Grau, a clerk at the County Board of Elections, and Ray, a carpenter for Avita Health System.
“You would think we’d be tired of it, but I can usually sit down in the evening and eat a bag,” Grau said of the satisfying snack, which they have shipped as far away as Utah and Texas. “We don’t ever get tired of it. It’s yummy.”