Competition-winning popcorn bar opens at Tysons Corner Center this week

A dessert bar featuring gourmet popcorn, milkshakes, and more has popped its way into Tysons.

The Popcorn Bag DC is opening this week at Tysons Corner Center, where it landed reduced rent there as part of a 2021 “Shark Tank”-like competition along with two other businesses.

The Popcorn Bag DC is located next to Coastal Flats and La Sandia. The hours are Thursdays through Sundays, starting at noon until they’re sold out.

It will have a private invite-only event on Thursday (Nov. 18), followed by specials and giveaways when it opens to the public starting Friday (Nov. 19).

Promotions for the grand opening weekend include coupons with all purchases on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 20), special gifts with Saturday purchases, and an additional reward for those who buy milkshakes on those two days between noon and 3 p.m.

A live DJ will also be there Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. A free mimosa will be given with purchases on Sunday.

The business offers popcorn flavors ranging from buffalo ranch and key lime pie to a Hennessy-inspired Chocolate Henny, chicken and waffles, and Ladies Night (a strawberry, champagne, and cheesecake mix). It also lists what treats are dairy-free and nut-free.

The business launched Oct. 8, 2020 in Maryland by the Metro’s Green Line in Hillcrest Heights.

“We don’t have anything like this in the area, and I wanted to be different,” owner Teia Hill said of its Maryland location in a video with the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation.

The Popcorn Bag was one of three winners of Tysons Corner Center’s DreamStart Competition, which offered businesses three months of free rent, among other prizes.

The first-place winner was the traditional Italian bakery Bisnonna Bakeshop, which opened next to Barnes & Noble in September. The Popcorn Bag was a runner-up, along with Garçon Mèlaninè & Co., a Black-owned children’s fashion brand that opened near the restaurant Wasabi at the end of August.