Dippin' Dots, Doc Popcorn co-branding first store at Battlefield Mall

Last edited 3:57 p.m., Feb. 17, 2015

Seven months after a merger of two snack franchisors, officials with Dippin’ Dots Franchising LLC and Doc Popcorn LLC say the companies will debut their first dual-brand store at Battlefield Mall.


The cafe-style storefront, which will occupy nearly 1,000 square feet in the former Handbags & More space outside J.C. Penney’s north entrance, is scheduled to open March 9.


“I think it is another step in the evolution of both brands,” said Clay Talley, the local franchisee, along with his wife, Sarah.

The couple recently moved to Nixa from central Arkansas, where they operated Home Instead Senior Care in Mountain Home for seven years.


Talley said they were selling their senior care business, when a friend introduced him to the Boulder-based Doc Popcorn brand. The Talleys applied for the franchise rights for up to five stores at a cost of $70,000 and estimated approximately $200,000 as the total startup cost for the store.

They already had targeted Battlefield Mall as their first site, and Talley said the co-branded idea emerged after Paducah, Ky.-based Dippin’ Dots acquired Doc Popcorn last summer. The Talleys paid Dippin’ Dots’ a $15,000 franchise fee and signed a five-year lease with mall owner Simon Property Group. Lease terms were undisclosed.


“High traffic is the reason we initially targeted the mall,” Talley said, adding he and Sarah performed a Saturday traffic count during the Christmas shopping season totaling over 4,000 shoppers within the hour.

Size was another determining factor in merging the two brands into one store as the space allows for large equipment such as popcorn poppers and carmelizers as well as ice cream freezers.

In the next couple of weeks, equipment, millwork and graphics will be installed before representatives from both companies visit to cross-train around a dozen employees. Talley said they’ll remain on-hand for a few days after the grand opening.

“It is going to be a great help because if you have a question there is a person standing right next to you who has done this a hundred times,” Talley said. “There is nothing they haven’t seen before.”[[In-content Ad]]