A New Location for Lil’ Bit Corny Popped Up in Radford This Year

Katy Eilert, Marvin Luke Eilert, and Christine Eilert

By Vickie Holt

Christine Eilert grew up in rural northeast Ohio with her mom, dad, and younger brother, Mark. Among the many memories from her childhood, Christine recalls when her parents would take her and Mark into Cleveland where they would visit one of the local popcorn shops. Popular in the area, Cleveland’s popcorn shops offered a full menu of flavored popcorns. Christine particularly loved the caramel popcorn, cherry flavored popcorn, and the popcorn balls! It’s a sweet memory for Christine, getting to go downtown, and having all the popcorn and candy. For a little kid, the atmosphere and the smells in the shops were magical.
When Christine grew older, she received an Associate’s Degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Pittsburg. At the time, she worked at an art store, but greater opportunities were looming on the horizon. A co-worker from the art store had gotten a job at Cap Toys, a division of Hasbro. When a position opened in the art department, the co-worker recommended Christine. “I never expected I would end up working in the candy and toy industry!”
From 1995 to 1998, Christine worked as an artist assistant and graphic designer in the girls and candy Research and Development department. During her time in this position, she was a packaging designer for several candies. She even got to go to Cologne Germany for a two-week trade show where she designed and set up the display for her company. The event was an international candy show, and she took the opportunity to learn about candies from all over the world.
In 1998, Christine was recruited by Impact Confections in Roswell, New Mexico. Like an echo from the past, it was once again a co-worker who had recommended her. Impact Confections did not have an art department, so when a co-worker who had already made the move from Cap to Impact suggested the idea to the president of the company, Christine was hired to start one from scratch.
In 1998, she quickly got to work, hired two more artists, and created the Impact Confections art department. As a team, they created silver and bronze award-winning point-of-sale visual displays, which are the display units found in retail stores that shelve and display the products. In her position as research, development, and design with the company, she even had the opportunity to design the shapes of candies!
“It was such a fun job to have!” says Christine. “I learned a lot about how all kinds of candies get made. Lemon Heads take two weeks!”
In 2003, she moved to Colorado Springs for a year to work in Impact’s corporate division, designing award winning packaging, labels, signage, marketing materials, trade show booths. She also traveled abroad to many shows and conferences.
It was in 2004, however, that her life would take a turn. By this time, she had married Marvin Luke Eilert, and after having her daughter, Katy, Christine wanted to stay home and be a mom.
Eight years earlier, Christine’s dad and stepmother had moved from their home in Ohio to the New River Valley. Wanting to be closer to family, the Eilerts found a home in Radford. For the first ten years, Christine continued as a stay-at-home mom while Marvin Luke worked with laying tile in the area.
Once Katy was older, however, Christine felt like she wanted to get back out there. Unfortunately, there was no work to be found in her previous field, nearby.
It was then that she hit upon the idea of opening her own business, one in which she could continue being creative. She wanted to rekindle her skills with creating logos, designs, packaging, and marketing. Ideally, at least to get started, she also wanted something she could do from home.
All that was left was to decide on a product. In many ways, Radford, Virginia is very different from Cleveland, Ohio. The one difference that mattered to Christine, however, was that Radford didn’t have any popcorn shops.
She began experimenting on her own, using the candy-making knowledge she’d gained during her years with Cap Toys and Impact Confections. She also drew inspiration from her memories as a child in Cleveland. She began creating different popcorn and flavor combinations then took the results to Radford University for the students to taste test. This provided great insight into what the public liked or disliked. They really liked the Lollipopcorns™. Most had never heard of or tried fruit flavored popcorn before, but they loved it!
Marvin Luke was also on board with the idea. Together, they brainstormed and came up with the name Lil’ Bit Corny. Christine then designed the logo and was ready to get down to business. She turned to SCORE for guidance to become a small business owner. SCORE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow, and achieve their goals.
Armed with the visuals, the products, and the business savvy, Christine began taking Lil’ Bit Corny to local festivals and events, as well as to the Radford Farmer’s Market. The specialty popcorns were a big hit with folks in Radford, but Christine thought it could be bigger. She created a Facebook page, as well as an Instagram account, and was soon shipping Lil’ Bit Corny products far and wide.
It wasn’t long before she decided the time was right to open a brick-and-mortar location. In 2011, the Eilerts opened a shop in West End Radford. As Christine was still learning to be a business owner, she didn’t do much marketing at this point. Contributing to the gradual nature of the store opening was the fact that it was situated a little farther out, away from the downtown foot traffic.
As it turned out, it was all for the best. The shop had to close a year later as Marvin Luke was offered a job at Quantico in northern Virginia. With a young daughter still at home, and travelling back and forth to see Marvin Luke, it just wasn’t possible to dedicate the time and attention necessary for the store.
But that doesn’t mean Lil’ Bit Corny was out of the picture. On a smaller scale, Christine continued making and selling her specialty popcorns from home. Even when Marvin Luke returned to Radford in 2015, the couple continued delivering and shipping popcorn throughout the United States. From 2018 to 2022, Christine also worked as manager at Sweet n’ Savory Bagels in Radford.
It was actually 2020 when the Eilerts began thinking once again about opening a static location. After all, Lil’ Bit Corny was more popular than ever, and the online business had really grown. Unfortunately, 2020 was also the year that the pandemic hit, making it difficult for many existing businesses to stay open. It would have been risky to try and open a new business in such an environment. “We were terrified of this pandemic,” says Christine, “and the effects it had on everyone. We continued our homebase popcorn shop with customers thanking us for the orders that we shipped, as they were also stuck at home.”
By 2022, things were getting back to normal. Marvin Luke was doing commercial plumbing and steam fitting with Varney Mechanical, based in Roanoke. Meanwhile, the Eilerts had completely outgrown their home popcorn business and Christine missed seeing her awesome customers! It was time, once again, to look for a location.
Everything happened in what seemed like a blink of an eye! In March of 2022, Christine found a vacant space available at 111 3rd Avenue, right in the heart of Downtown Radford, in the same building as Hodge Podge Cookies! “Perfect!” says Christine. “Popcorn and cookies in the same spot! A sweet shop for everyone!”
The space had been recently painted with bright colors and fitted with bright lights, so there wasn’t much more to be done. On April 4th, Lil’ Bit Corny officially opened its new location, and the locals, many of whom had never seen popcorn this way, have fallen in love! “It’s a nice treat for them,” says Christine, “and it makes me happy to see our customers happy.”
Lil’ Bit Corny offers over a hundred different flavors and varieties of popcorn, all non-GMO and gluten free. The candy-coated popcorn is called Lollipopcorn™. It’s made from a special popcorn that is much larger and rounder than regular popcorn. The popped corn is then candy-coated with Christine’s own Lollipop candy coating. Though there are many different fruit flavors, the most popular is the mixed fruit rainbow colored popcorn.
Then there are the caramel varieties, including classic caramel and sea salt caramel. New additions to this group are the Honey Butter Caramel and the Peanut Butter Caramel.
The kettle corns include Classic Kettle, Honey kettle, Cinnamon Sugar Kettle, Pumpkin Spice Kettle, and Spicy Kettle.
The biggest seller, however, is the white cheddar! The White Cheddar popcorn is handmade with the finest white cheddar cheese available. The white cheddar is also used in almost all the savory flavors, including Jalapeño White Cheddar and Buffalo Ranch.
Specialty popcorns are made in small batches by hand. The Eilerts start with their Lollipopcorn™, or their Caramels and Vanilla candy coated Popcorn, then add toppings like nuts, cookies, candies, Coconut, dried fruit, and more. The specialty popcorn is then coated with Belgian White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, or Dark Chocolate. Some of the most popular flavors are White Chocolate Peppermint, Reese’s peanut butter cup, Cookies and Cream, and White Chocolate Cashew.
Christine is thrilled to have the new location up and running, but she wants to remind everyone that coming to the store and buying your favorite popcorn is not the only way to enjoy Lil’ Bit Corny! They attend the Radford and Christiansburg Farmers Markets from April through mid-October. They also vend at many festivals and events throughout the New River Valley, Salem, and Roanoke. They do fundraisers with schools, traveling sports teams, clubs, and more. They even make popcorn for corporate gifts and gift basket companies.
Customers who do visit the store, however, can take advantage of the popcorn buffet. Scoops are provided for filling bowls or bags. Visitors can also purchase popcorn in a variety of bag sizes, from gift size bags to a huge, five-gallon sized bag.
If planning a special event, Lil’ Bit Corny creates one-of-a-kind gift bags for birthdays, baby showers, weddings, graduations, and more. Whatever the occasion, Lil’ Bit Corny can make it pop! The popcorn can be made in whatever color combinations will match your special event.
Though the new shop just opened this year, Lil’ Bit Corny will actually complete twelve years in business on November 11. The Eilerts’ daughter, Katy, practically grew up in the business. Not only does she help Christine and Marvin Luke with all the workings of the shop and events, she also attends New River Community College, and has become a strong businesswoman in her own right. “We are so happy that our lil’ popcorn shop dream from long ago could assist her academically and in everyday life,” says Christine. “Dreams do come true! We love you!”
Christine Eilert is a member of the Radford Chamber of Commerce, the American Businesswomen’s Association of the New River Valley, Radford Noon Rotary, and board member of Mountain Trotter Arts. Lil’ Bit Corny has been recognized by The Better Business Bureau as an A+ company for eleven years straight.
Today, Lil’ Bit Corny is making popcorn six days a week. Shop hours are 4:00pm – 8:00pm, Tuesday through Friday, and 10:00am – 2:00pm on Saturday. They are also open by appointment to accommodate customer needs. Lil’ Bit Corny delivers and ships their popcorn everywhere across the globe, with free delivery in the New River Valley.
“Our goal has always been to make the highest quality popcorn on the market, and we continue to do so with integrity. We treat our customers like friends and family.”