Merced woman turns ‘fluke’ into evergrowing popcorn business

MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A woman born and raised in Merced made a “fluke” into an evergrowing business.

Dominique Pruitt owns Dom’s Bomb Gourmet Popcorn, a business that sells gourmet popcorn and is made from locally sourced ingredients.

She first started her business four years ago when her father brought her a cotton candy machine.

Pruitt says she didn’t have things to make cotton candy, so she improvised using what she had available to her – kernels, and one thing led to another. She started looking at different recipes and experimenting in her kitchen.

“I think it’s the creativity of being able to come up with different flavors. I want my mission to think outside of the box of popcorn,” Pruitt said.

She says she wants people to step outside of their comfort zones and have flavors of foods that they love, in popcorn, but still have it taste delicious. According to her website, she has flavors like banana pudding, cookies and cream, birthday cake and many more.

When it comes to popcorn making, she says it is like a canvas and how she can “take something out of nothing.”

Pruitt says when she first started her business, she was originally working for the county. Within an hour and a half of being at her first farmers’ market, she sold out. She then thought to herself that she had something going on, and the rest is history.

“I prayed on it. I was like, if this is what God wants me to do, then I’m going to do it. And, I did it,” she said.

After years of farmers markets, pop-ups, and festivals, Pruit will be opening a kiosk; her first permanent location in the city where she was born and raised.

“I need a place where people can find me instead of always looking for me. Because I get a lot of people saying, ‘Oh, I’m looking at your Instagram trying to figure out where you are next,'” Pruitt said.

Talking about her kiosk at the Marketplace in Merced made Pruitt emotional. She says the feedback she received from the community made her want to cry.

“It made me realize that I’m doing the right thing… When I started telling my customers, when I started doing events and posted those online. I got so much good feedback,” Pruitt said. “They’re like, ‘We’ll be at your grand opening, let us know. We’re so happy, now we have a place to get popcorn 24-seven.'”

Pruitt says this kiosk is just a stepping stone into her evergrowing business and eventually wants to open more kiosks at different malls. Eventually, she’d like to get a contract with a sports arena and have her popcorn sold there, but for now, she just wants to bring her flavors to others.

To celebrate the opening of the kiosk, Pruitt will be having a buy one, get one half off offer on the first two days of its opening.

The grand opening for Dom’s Bomb Gourment Popcorn with be on May 1 at noon at the Marketplace at Merced, located at 851 W. Olive Ave.