Popcorn Stand Opens at 3rd Street Market Hall
Pop City offers many different flavors, including jalapeno, birthday cake and pizza.
Pop City at 3rd Street Market Hall. Photo taken Dec. 31, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.
It’s crunch time at 3rd Street Market Hall, which recently welcomed its newest vendor, Pop City. The stall, operated by Tonya Hughes and Alesha Fitzgerald, sells more than a dozen varieties of gourmet popcorn, along with flavored lemonades, tea and cold brewed coffee.
“We thought it would be a good fit,” said Hughes’s husband, Ken, who helped out with the venture behind the scenes. “It was actually a new project for them, so they did a lot of studying, a lot of research. So far, so great.”
Pop City evokes the atmosphere of a movie theater, featuring a glass-enclosed display counter and a commercial popcorn machine that offers an up-close view—and that irresistible aroma—of freshly popped kernels.
Feeling nostalgic? Choose from classic flavors like salt and butter, caramel or cheese. For a sweet-and-salty combo, try the 53206 Mix, with spicy cheddar and caramel corn, or the Triple Mix, a blend of cheddar, white and caramel popcorn. More adventurous options include bacon, ranch, jalapeno, dill, taco, bang bang, pizza, barbecue, cookies and cream, birthday cake and fruit.
Popcorn is sold in regular, large, family-size and jumbo portions, with candy toppings available for 75 cents each.
“We’ve been getting great reviews from people that buy the popcorn there,” Ken said. “We’ve already gotten repeat customers, so that says a lot.”
To drink, Pop City offers lemonade and tea, with the option to add flavors like coconut, mango, watermelon and cucumber. Cold brewed coffee comes with its own set of flavored syrups, including vanilla, hazelnut, toasted marshmallow and toffee. Specialty lattes like salted caramel popcorn, coco mocha and brown sugar vanilla are also featured.
The newly constructed vendor stall is situated in the southwest corner of 3rd Street Market Hall, just beyond the narrow hallway of hawker stalls.
The Hughes also operate Dawg City, located just a few steps away inside the food hall at 275 W. Wisconsin Ave. Best known for its specialty hot dogs inspired by regional cuisines — Philly cheese steak, Santa Fe, Chicago-style — Dawg City also offers corned beef sandwiches, nachos, onion rings, cheese curds and funnel cake fries.
“It’s going really well,” Ken said of Dawg City, noting its continued growth and new menu additions in the coming year.
“We’re so excited to be at 3rd Street Market Hall. It’s a great place for any business—like the business hub of the city—so we couldn’t have made a better choice for both of our businesses, being at 3rd Street Market Hall and in beautiful downtown Milwaukee.”
Pop City officially opened Jan. 3. Another new vendor, Craft Boba, is set to join the market lineup in the near future.
3rd Street Market Hall is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Bar hours at the hall are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
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