Screengrab/Facebook
The Facebook page for Detroit Popcorn Company, which claims to be the largest popcorn storefront in the Midwest, is currently offline and its Yelp page has been flooded with one-star reviews and comments advocating for a boycott.
The 97-year-old popcorn retailer located in Redford is being “canceled” after screenshots surfaced in which Detroit Popcorn Company owner Evan Singer, who posts under the alias "Even Sangria," made comments supporting the deadly knee-to-neck restraint used by Minneapolis police that resulted in the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, last week in Minnesota.
“They wonder why they need knee's [sic] in there [sic] necks,” Singer's post reads, allegedly in reference to Black Lives Matter protesters who have assembled rallies, many of which were escalated by an aggressive militarized police presence, in various cities throughout the country in the wake of Floyd's death.
Well ladies and gentleman, looks like the racist are slowly exposing their own selves! How about everybody and do me a...
Posted by Jacob Sidock on Sunday, May 31, 2020
“The Detroit Popcorn Company no longer needs the support of Black Detroiters,” one Facebook post reads, sharing screenshots of his comments paired with an image of Singer holding a giant bag of popcorn taken from a profile for The Oakland Press in 2019, confirming his identity as both the owner and the poster.
People who have engaged with Singer over Facebook Messenger have also posted screenshots of their conversations in which he denies his comment had anything to do with race and doubles down on his stance against “criminals that are stealing, burning, and destroying city's [sic].”
Several users discovered that Singer quickly changed his Instagram handle and name to Bob Jones, which appears to be deactivated. One commenter alleged that Detroit Popcorn Company was deleting negative reviews from its Facebook page, which is currently offline, before marking the business as temporarily closed on Google. However, according to Detroit Popcorn Company's prerecorded voicemail greeting, they are open to the public and are still fulfilling orders.
According to commenters, Detroit Popcorn Company supplies Quicken Loans' and Quicken Loans' affiliate workers with popcorn, and user Dominique Dom claims to have contacted CEO Jay Farner, who agreed to pull their contract with the popcorn retailer.
“Got it done! Contract was terminated!” one comment reads. "Thank you Quicken Loans and Dominique Dom!”
The Detroit Zoo, which also has a Detroit Popcorn Company outpost, announced Monday morning that they had cut ties with the retailer due to the hateful comments made by Singer. The zoo also works with seasonal vendor Poppin’ & Mixin’ Kettle Corn, a Detroit popcorn food truck that is urging the community to not confuse their business for that of Detroit Popcorn Company and has issued a statement on their site clarifying that they have no affiliation with Singer's business or his comments. They've even dropped “Detroit” from their truck to distance themselves further.
People are urging others to sever ties with Detroit Popcorn Company and redirect their popcorn needs to local Black-owned popcorn businesses Poppin' Top Hat and Motor City Popcorn.
Singer, a Lyon Township resident, became co-owner in 2015 and in 2019 bought the company from owner David Farber, with whom Singer shared co-ownership. According to a press release, Singer was a “21-year-old fireman” who sold cars on the side and was entertaining paramedic school when Farber made the decision to buy the company and include Singer as general manager.
Detroit Popcorn Company did not immediately respond to Metro Times' voicemail and emails.
Update: 8:43 p.m., Quicken Loans has cut ties with Detroit Popcorn Company following Evan Singer's comments.
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