Rachel Marciniak-Matthews, founder of 12-year-old Rachel Matthews Popcorn Co., acquired the 95-year-old Bassett Nut Co. last year. “It was an easy yes when the Bassett owners asked if I were interested in buying the company. We have worked together over the years as we offer the same kind of products to similar customers. This deal just made good business sense,” she noted. “I wanted to keep the Bassett Company brand and this was a perfect fit for my popcorn company.”
Marciniak-Matthews has merged the two businesses in her present 5307 Monroe St. location by leasing the adjacent retail suite and tripling her space. “I wanted to authenticate the original Bassett brand on this building so I had a world-renown artist replicate the original Bassett Nut Company sign on the building,” she said.
Now customers can choose from a variety of popcorn and nut flavors in several size options. “As our saying goes, we have ‘nuts from around the world.’ We do offer everything from honey-roasted or smoky mozzarella peanuts, white chocolate cashews to cinnamon pecans or raw redskin peanuts, cashews, deluxe mixes, and much more. Popcorn fanciers can find flavors from pumpkin, salt and vinegar, to white cheddar, dill pickle, beer caramel, and Chicago mix, along with many others,” she stated.
In addition, customers can find an assortment of chocolate products including a variety of fudge flavors, malted milk balls, chocolate-covered peanuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, and raisins, both light and dark, along with other selections.
“We produce many of our gourmet food products in our on-site kitchen. All of our nut and popcorn products are made from our original recipes. We pride ourselves on the freshness of our products,” she offered.
Marciniak-Matthews said that both individual and corporate gift boxes are most popular during the holiday season. “We also offer engraved, personalized boxes and can apply company logos on those gift boxes,” she said. Marciniak-Matthews and her staff custom-fill orders and ship everywhere.
“We make Christmas gift-giving very easy. We are all about providing premium selections at reasonable prices. We even have items starting as low as $2,” she promised.
Bassett’s is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm.

About Rachel Matthews Popcorn Co.
Marciniak-Matthews comes from an entreprenueral family. Her parents, Sheila and Ken Marciniak opened an innovative ice cream store, the Igloo on Douglas Road and Monroe Street in 1972.
Marciniak-Matthews said she and her family had fallen in love with the gourmet popcorn they found in Chicago. And, after nearly a decade of experimenting, she came up with a recipe for caramel popcorn that satisfied them. She began giving the caramel popcorn as gifts and people began to place orders. As the demand grew, Marciniak-Matthews decided to open her store in 2013. The popcorn shop featured a variety of popcorn flavors from savory to sweet. Some of the choices include buffalo bleu cheese, cheddar, dill pickle, coffee, caramel, salt and vinegar, to name a few. Customers can buy small, medium, or large bags of popcorn or tins. “We are constantly evolving our flavor selections,” Marciniak-Matthews stated.
“People will come in and ask if we have this flavor or that flavor. My reaction is why not try it and we do. Our dill pickle-flavored popcorn came from one of those requests,” she added.
About Bassett Nut Company

The Bassett Nut Company was founded in 1928 in the Magnolia Street garage of Sam Bassett. Bassett first started nut processing in his reconditioned gas coffee roaster, sending the aroma of fresh roasted peanuts throughout the nearby downtown neighborhood and luring customers to his makeshift setup.
His first move was to Morris Street, under the High Level Bridge. In 1963 he relocated to 43 S. Huron St. In 1989, the business was sold to a lifelong Toledo family. At that time, Bassett Nut Company was thriving as a processor, wholesaler, and retailer of fresh roasted nuts, dried fruits, snack mixes, and gourmet popcorn, with locations at Franklin Park Mall, Northtowne Mall, and the Spitzer Arcade.