NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We are months away from the Music City Hot Chicken Festival. Still, a business is taking this week to celebrate the sort of heat you can only find in Nashville.
For a family, the sound of popcorn popping is just like home.
That's how it is for sisters Erica and Amber Greer.
Popcorn's just part of the family story.
"It started when we were kids," Erica said.
"Our dad would always get us the Christmas tins around the holidays," Amber added.
For 15 years, popcorn has been the family business.
"We go home smelling like buttered popcorn," Amber smiled.
Their dad became the inspiration for company mascot Chef Kernal at Kernal's Nashville Popcorn.
Today, something new's poppin' up.
"It's actually a long name!" Amber laughed.
"This is the Kernal's Hot Chicken With Ranch and Pickles Sandwich Popcorn!" Erica explained.
Hot popcorn is something of a tribute to that long standing Nashville tradition for hot. It's something done so well at a place like Prince's. So, how do you capture a bit of that hot chicken magic in popcorn? Amber says it's the combination
"It's our Nashville hot popcorn, and we put ranch popcorn and dill pickle popcorn with it, and it tastes like a hot chicken sandwich," she explained. "I think we bring the heat!"
"It's a spice that kinda sneaks up on you!" Erica added.
Kernal's is calling this Hot Popcorn Week.
There's a lot to a family business story that began with Christmas popcorn tins.
"Just walking up today, I smelled the popcorn outside and I was like, 'that smells so good!'" said Erica. "It's been a blessing over the years. The sound of popcorn is home."
Compliments to the chef.
For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.
-Lelan Statom
