VOTED ER
BEST BU C R O G UNTY
IN PA N S O S R A TH IC JERSEY.COM’S
BY
G
REBECCA KIN
INTERNATIONAL
POPCORN LOOKING
TO OPEN NEW
LOCATIONS IN JERSEY
Totowa has long been the home of
INTERNATIONAL POPCORN , a company
that sells zany popcorn creations. But soon,
International Popcorn plans to franchise and
open five new locations.
Owners Tom and Laura Mullich of Totowa
say the new popcorn stores will likely open in
Essex, Morris, Warren and Bergen counties in
2020. Though nothing has been finalized yet,
the Warren location is predicted to be in the
town of Hope, and two locations will open in
Bergen.
The original popcorn manufacturing facil-
ity in Totowa will also be expanded to 5,000
square feet, tripling the amount of popcorn it
can make. The Mullichs say that the expansion
will allow them to make new customized prod-
ucts (where customers pick their own flavors
and colors of popcorn for parties and events).
Indeed, International Popcorn’s products
are head-turners, many of them brightly col-
ored popcorn drizzled with glazes and glitters.
The company sells everything from “Unicorn
Popcorn” (pink, blue and white candy-coated,
cotton-candy-flavored popcorn) to “Jersey Mix”
(smoky cheddar cheese popcorn with dried
pieces of Taylor ham).
The popcorn is air popped — in other words,
the kernels aren’t heated using oil. The butters,
cheeses and most other ingredients used by
International Popcorn are fresh (not powdered
or dried), making for a better quality snack
to munch on while binging on Netflix.
• 490 Riverview Drive No. 2b, Totowa;
201-588-7672, intl-pop.com.
LOOK WHO MAKES PASSAIC
COUNTY’S BEST BURGER
A couple of years ago, it was considered avant garde to plop
a fried egg on top of a burger. Now, nearly every restaurant that
sells burgers does it. But few do it as well as THE SHEPHERD AND
THE KNUCKLEHEAD in Haledon. The egg on its Breakfast Burger
is fried just enough that it retains its globe of runny yellow yolk.
The pretzel bun is lightly dusted with salt, and when bit into,
the yolk runs over the burger, drenching the bacon and cheddar
that also sits atop the Angus beef patty, adding tons of flavor.
This burger is a stunner, served in a super-friendly local bar.
“Everything is made in-house and it’s consistent,” says general
manager Cesar Bonilla. “Our burger is everything it should be.”
$14.95. • 529 Belmont Ave., 973-942-8666, theshepnj.com.
GOODBYE
TO 381 MAIN
BAR & GRILL
381 MAIN BAR &
GRILL in Little Falls
closed in early August.
Why? New develop-
ment in town, accord-
ing to Steven Baskinger,
the owner. He hopes,
however, to secure
financing for a new location close by that he would like to open
in 12 to 18 months. The 2,400-square-foot bar and grill (it has a
1,000-square-foot patio, too) opened in 2005. Previously, it was
a martini bar that Baskinger ran until 2010, when he turned the
space into a sports bar with a full menu and brick pizza oven.
WAYNE MAGAZINE BACK TO SCHOOL 2019
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