Ellis Popcorn
A Murray Tradition

For Ann Kelly Ellis, popcorn has literally been a part of life for her entire life. Her father, Herman Ellis, grew up on a farm, and when he returned from World War II, he and his brother, Holmes Ellis (longtime Mayor of Murray), started growing popcorn. "At that time, there were a few other plants in Murray, and there wasn't a huge need for more popcorn, so my daddy went out and got our first customer, A & P," says Kelly. "They bagged it, cleaned it and sold it."

In 1962, Herman Ellis bought his brother's half of the business and has sustained the company ever since. "The best part of this business is working with the farmers," says Ellis. "We contract directly with farmers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri and sometimes North Carolina."

"Our farmers grow designated acres for us, and then the corn is delivered to our plant in Murray or our plant in Topeka, Illinois," Ellis says. The plants process the corn, package it and then ship it all over the world. "We sell everything from a 4-ounce package of popcorn up to a 2,000-pound tote bag of popcorn," Ellis notes.

Ellis has been the CEO of Ellis Popcorn since 2000 but has worked at the plant off and on all of her life. "The biggest challenge we have right now is being a small company in a competitive environment and finding our niche and keeping it," she says. "We have customers who have been with us for years and years because we provide a consistently good product to them."

"People tell me that they would drive 40 minutes to get our popcorn because they grew up eating it and they love it, and that makes me feel good."

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