Stephanie Johnson is a woman with many talents ranging from being a stay-at-home mom to owning HAPPY Popcorn, a gourmet popcorn business in Portage. In 2018, Johnson decided that she wanted to create her own gourmet popcorn business.
“Our claim to fame is we have all hot air popped popcorn, so that means it's made with no oils or fats making it a little healthier, but it's twice as delicious as any other popcorn you've ever had. We were originally located in New Buffalo, Michigan, just across the state border from Indiana. Now we're basically selling out of our campground here in Portage,” said Johnson.
Johnson started HAPPY Popcorn because she wanted to make good but healthy food more accessible.
“I love to see the joy and happiness from other people enjoying a good meal, even if it's just a snack like popcorn. We do anything to make things healthier while still being able to enjoy good food,” said Johnson.
HAPPY Popcorn has a variety of 54 flavors. Fan favorites include butter cheese caramel, Chicago mix, and their own special popcorn called happy mix.
Aside from making delicious popcorn for all of Portage to love, Johnson also has been a stay-at-home mom.
“I joke around and say I'm still on maternity leave right now even though my youngest is 21 years old. My oldest is 30, and he's stationed in Killeen, Texas in the Army. My second oldest is 29. He's in the Air Force stationed in New Mexico. Then I have a 23-year-old and a 21-year-old still at home,” said Johnson.
Some of Johnson’s favorite things to do when she has free time is curling up with a good book or playing board games with her family.
“My husband and I are really competitive, so we do a lot of games: backgammon, Boggle, Scrabble. Board games are a big thing in the house. My husband and my kids are chess experts, but I'm not a chess expert. So, I leave that to them,” said Johnson.
Johnson is also very active with the Portage community.
“Both my husband and myself as well as my kids are very active in our church, so that keeps me very busy," said Johnson. "I'm newly appointed to the Board of Works in the City of Portage. I'm also very active with my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, as well as the chairperson for my class reunion. We have a citywide class reunion and we normally do events of upwards of 500 people. When my kids were in school I was very involved with Portage Township Schools (PTS) and different activities with them as well. The community is very very important to me and I love our Portage community.”
Not only is Johnson involved with the Portage community, she also is very involved with the Miller area of Gary.
“Although I haven't lived in the Miller area of Gary in over 16 years, I'm still really active with organizations there. We had a Miller C.A.N., which is the Children's Activity Network. We did a lot of things, built the playground right there on the beach and sponsored various events for the kids in the neighborhood. Miller C.A.N. is no longer an actual organization now, but we still participate with all the members that we worked with before,” said Johnson.
From popping delicious popcorn to being a stay-at-home mom, Johnson knows it all.