Nicole Bailey-Williams wears a lot of “hats,” including those of high school English teacher, wife, mother and author.
Recently she added another chapeau to her collection: Owner of Capital Corn and Confections, a recently-opened popcorn and candy shop.
The self-proclaimed “Queen of Corn” (who wears a tiara as one of her hats) began her business in 2011 by renting kitchen space in a restaurant in Princeton. Bailey-Williams and her students made popcorn to sell during farmers’ markets, supermarkets and in the Sun Bank Arena. That’s when former student Rebecca Paul joined her business.
“I believed in Miss Bailey’s business since day one,” said Paul, who is now the manager of Capital Corn. “She has taught me about growth, believing in your dreams and making them happen.”
Paul is currently a junior at Rutgers majoring in Criminal Justice and Political Science with plans to go to law school. “I have a few ideas of my own I want to accomplish and being side by side with her has created ideas in my head that I want to establish.”
A teacher at Ewing High School for some 20 years, Bailey-Williams currently teaches 10th grade English. Her business, which is located in the former location of Yo-Licious Twist Frozen Yogurt at 195 Scotch Road near Papa John’s Pizza, employs about 15 current and former students. Her current students work there as part of Ewing High School’s Senior Experience Program — an internship program designed to give students work experience while still in high school.
As part of the program, two work shifts are to be completed during school time. The students must work at least eight hours a week and write journal entries.
In addition to students working at Capital Corn, Bailey-Williams brings her business into the classroom. “I try out new recipes at home and with my students after I make sure there are no allergies,” Bailey-Williams said. “They are my test audience.”
Bailey-Williams’ hats overlap throughout her busy days. She has two daughters — one in elementary school and the other in middle school. Her husband, Gregory Williams, whom she met in college, graduated from Trenton Central High School and is now a judge in Trenton Municipal Court. In addition to her work at the store, Paul has interned for Judge Williams.
Bailey-Williams’ overlapping hats are what got her into the popcorn business in the first place. While working as a teacher she also wrote several books and realized that she has a desire to create. “Cooking, dancing and writing — all of them are different forms of creating. My characters have flaws in the beginning, but I wanted to make them their perfect selves and create a little beauty in the world.” The books are set in places she is familiar with. Though written for adults, they have high school and college fans.
She self-published her first book, A Little Piece of Sky and took it around to about five different book stores on the weekends for book signings and as a way to get on their shelves. The book store would order 30 books, she would sell about 20 at the event, and autograph the rest to be sold later. “I had no other means to sell it,” she said.
At the same time, she was hosting a monthly book review radio show on AM radio side at WDAS in Philadelphia. “I got the chance to talk to and interview authors. At one point I was going out to Arizona to do a panel about how to promote books on the air. I met some editors. I had self-published this book. I sent it to some editors I met.”
One of the editors was at Random House, and she called Bailey-Williams and left an emphatic message telling her not to talk to anyone about her book. She loved the book and wanted to buy the rights from her.
While out on a Midwest book tour, she was told to visit a certain popcorn shop. As a Philly native she is from the city of hot pretzels and did not understand the appeal of popcorn. Popcorn was huge in that area. Street vendors sell corncobs with mayonnaise and there were many different varieties of popcorn for sale. Before leaving the area, she visited the store, which sparked the idea of starting her own popcorn business. “They do really interesting things with it. They try different ways to make it work,” she said.
The shop opened on Oct. 17 and had an official ribbon cutting on Halloween. “We’ve been having a really good time so far,” she said.
Capitol Corn and Confections has about 25 flavors, and on any given day there are five to be sampled. Flavors range from sweet to savory. On a recent visit, the store had cookies and cream, cinnamon sugar, garlic basil, cheddar and peppermint bark flavors.
Bailey-Williams recommends using the garlic basil popcorn as a low-fat alternative to using croutons in a salad. “Anyone who pops in gets to taste different flavors. We rotate flavors out.”
Flavors not currently out can be made on the spot. “I have set a goal of making everything processed within two minutes. We are quite on the mark,” she said. “We pop all day long.”
Although the shop opens at 2 p.m. each afternoon, students arrive as early as 11 a.m. to start making popcorn. Bailey-Williams said her vision is for people visiting her shop to engage all of the senses, starting with smell. Her cheery yellow walls with displays of popcorn machines, balls of popcorn, gift baskets and candy appeal to sight. The background music appeals to the sense of sound. Popcorn is a very tactile food, appealing to the sense of touch. Taste is the easy one.
“I like all the kids going to dance school and karate school (in the nearby storefronts) to get a whiff” of popcorn through their open front door, she said.
In addition to selling bags and 85-ounce canisters of popcorn, Capital Corn and Confections also sells chocolate dipped cookies, marshmallows and pretzels. Each is topped with different colors. All are works of art. “Some of my kids have artisanal skills,” she said. The canisters range in price from $10.99 to $12.99.
Capital Corn also provides enough popcorn for a popcorn bar at special events. They recently brought three flavors of gourmet popcorn to a local middle school dance and another six to a sorority holiday party. They have had popcorn bars at birthday parties, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs and other special events. “We get included in people’s events and that feels good,” she said.
Bailey-Williams has a number of future plans for her store, including adding tables, hosting in-house fundraisers and teaming up with a company to begin offering delivery.
“For Valentine’s day I want to dabble in a special Valentine’s popcorn,” she said. “There is one person who makes it with real gold in his popcorn. I love this idea. It is very pricey, but the cutest thing. “
In her spare time, Bailey-Williams wears her author hat. She is currently working on a couple more books, including a one about how business can happen to the most unlikely people. She is proof of that.
Capitol Corn & Confections, 195 Scotch Road. Phone: (609) 882-6POP. On the web: trentonpopcorn.com email: trentonpopcorn@aol.com. Hours: Monday to Friday 2 to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sunday.
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