Thanks! It’s going to hurt putting that first dime in and making it dirty but that’s what it was made to do. Amazing how complex the mechanics are in this to make a simple bag of popcorn but that’s half the show! I think it will give us many years of enjoyment.

Looks beautifully done.

I’d love to see a video of it in action if you’re bored one day.

Great rare find!
Been looking for one for years.
Beautiful machine.

Thanks. Yeah not your average popcorn machine for sure and not easy to find complete. This one was restored, motors build and hand pinstriped top to bottom. The only miss on it was the non original dome which should be globe shaped but I have since found one so it will be correct. Sadly cost as much as a pinball machine but I am certain my kids and grandkids will love it just as well. As long as they don't bring their greasy fingers to the pinball area.....lol Need to find a coin-op wetnap machine now.

I had a lead on one, working unrestored for $8500 it sold in 5 mins lol

I could easily trade out a AAA title game for one of those lol

I actually have a lead on another one not fully restored but reconditioned for much less then that. Completely original. If your interested you can PM me and I'll give you his info. Really great guy and knows the coin-op stuff. The one I got was just to pretty to pass up.

Definitely PM me the details we might strike a deal!

All info sent. Nice looking original.

Do you happen to have a before picture for comparison?

Sorry no. He hunted it down for me and many months later it’s ready to make us popcorn. Lol

Does anyone own or have any experiences with Olde Midway Bar Style Popcorn Machine Maker Popper with 8-Ounce Kettle? I see it's highly rated on Amazon, and was curious to see if anyone has additional insight.

Olde midway and great northern are so identical they might be the same company with cheaper kettles.

I looked at it but bought 3 of the great northern ones for $200 each off Amazon for my stores.

I didnt necessarily need the cart, but if you wanted it later, they are hard to impossible to get.

So I am storing one cart unassembled in case I want it later, ya never know...

They are all ready to put on a bar or counter. They have feet on them whether you use a cart or not.

6097 Great Northern Popcorn Red Foundation Popcorn Popper Machine Cart, 8 Ounce https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YOR1FW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_hzpzeeVN5bPOC

All of the cabinets are nearly exactly the same from all the companies. They are mass produced in china.

The only differences are the kettles.
Some are very poorly made, but all look the same.

Wattage is important. More is better. It reheats faster and makes better popcorn the faster it heats up.

Amazon is the way to go.
If they are bent or damaged in transit, super easy to get replaced quickly.

Mine arrived perfecly.
I like the 860w kettles. They are fast and cook mushroom popcorn perfectly (my favorite kind)

The great northern ones come with or without the cart.

I'm very happy with my poppers.
Customers love the carts and the corn comes out really perfect.

Amazon deal of the day.
https://www.amazon.com/s
Not sure how good of a price, just sharing what I found.
Also
https://www.amazon.com/s/browse/ref=gbps_tit_s-5_5baf_71b51221

Best deal on 8oz pre-paks

4108 Great Northern Popcorn Premium 8 Ounce Popcorn Portion Packs, Case of 40 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YGQ9CO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_eTGRCbJNF2SMH

Free shipping for prime members.
Limit 3 at a time.

I just bought 6 on 2 separate orders lol

I’m in on that! Thank you for posting it!

I've got my eye on the Great Northern Matinee cart for $230. I'll probably follow the price and wait for a sale. Thanks

All these machines looks so darn alike. Lincoln, Matinee, Foundation, Paducah, etc. Hopefully I pick a good one.

The lowest price I saw was $212 after looking at it for a few weeks.

As others have stated on Amazon, they can arrive dented or crushed. Send it back if that happens.
I had to send in my Matinee, the second one was flawless.

I have the matinee in my home.
Its smaller than others but plenty big and fits easily anywhere in my house, I really like it.
It also comes in 2 colors, I chose red.

Having bought several poppers, I can tell you that the matinee is higher quality and has a higher quality kettle in it, all tempered glass throughout.

Its like it was made by a different but better factory, hence the higher price for a slightly smaller unit.

Put the bolt mod I showed earlier in the kettle. You have to do this. Without it the doors on the kettle stay open.
This is in all cases with this type of kettle.

Has anyone painted their rusty ceiling of a Great Northern? Was thinking of maybe rustoleum high heat. Rustoleum says the don’t have anything for this application as it is not rated for direct contact with food. Any recommendations?

I think someone earlier in the thread replaced the entire roof piece with a stainless steel one.

Anybody know where to get a stainless steel ceiling? Great Northern doesn’t sell them. I contacted them. Custom made at sheet metal shop?

Yes. Find a good Tin Knocker in your area.....

For anyone interested in seeing the Most complicated and $$$$ way to make popcorn I thought I would share a video of my Popperette popcorn machine finally finished with its restoration and heading Home! The grand kids better love this..... If your into mechanical mayhem this 1940 solution should be right up your alley. It's a 2 part series showing the mechanics and operation. Just hope it tastes as good as it looks!

Popperette Part 1 restoration and mechanics:

Popperette Part 2 the end result and operation:

Thanks for sharing, that machine is awesome! Enjoy.

That's totally bad ass. I'm glad you're going to be using it!

Selling my Popcorn Express popcorn machine. Don’t use it as much as I thought. Looking for $800, let me know if interested!

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Amazing... I barely finish my gameroom, and my buddy shows up with this bad boy GeneQ , you’re awesome!

Didn’t know there is a club, but I’m here now!

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That's a great machine!

It will cook giant mushroom popcorn easily. I think mushroom is the best cooked with butter flavored coconut oil

Anyone here ever have an issue where the popcorn is getting stuck in the kettle when it starts popping? The agitator or spinner inside my kettle is getting jammed causing the gears at the top to push the kettle rod away thus the popcorn gets stuck and burns in the kettle unless I turn off the heat and pry it out with a fork. I’ve tried realigning the arms and the plate at the top but it keeps happening. Kettle size is 8oz and I’m using the directed amounts of corn and oil. Any recommendations?

Only thing I can think of other then a mechanical alignment issue is that you Need to get the oil to Full temp before adding the corn.

What kind of kettle are you using? If it's a Gold Medal or a similar one, it usually means the agitator is too high.

Yup. It happened a few times with the Great Northern machine I got not long ago. Jammed up so bad I had to bang the rod out with a hammer. Popcorn burns and I have to throw out the whole batch. Problem appears to be popcorn getting stuck in the middle of the agitator causing it to jam. Perhaps the agitator is a touch to high but not sure how you would lower it. Maybe it has something to do with not letting things heat up properly. I don't know. It's been working fine several batches since then so not worried about it. Other problem I have had is sometimes there is a lot of unpopped kernels. Not sure what the normal amount is but seems like I always end up throwing away a big portion of kernels. With three kids, sometimes I fighting for more popcorn. So good!

I wonder if a piece is stuck under the collar? Open the flap covering the kettle and look at the bottom where the rod comes in for the stir bar. At the bottom is a collar on a spring. Pull that up and see if anything is jammed inside the collar.

Hey all, thanks for the suggestions. I’ve tried everything - even purchased a new kettle for the unit as well as the plate at the top of the unit as per Nostalgia’s recommendation.

Everything is level and checks out yet the jamming happens EVERY time I use the machine. It’s a Nostalgia CCP610 and I know it’s not highly regarded here but I got it used for next to nothing.

Anyway, I’m getting rid of it and moving on to something that will work. Any Great Northern owners have a recommendation for which unit to get? I’m looking for at least 8oz kettle size. Thanks!

Maybe just get a great northern 8oz kettle and move the gear shaft over from the old one?

I have a great northetn matinee 8oz with cart and it fits very well into my gameroom. It's also small enough to put on a counter.

Around $220 complete from amazon.

I have several machines.
They all jam once in awhile. I just smack the handle down firmly after turning off the stirrer.

I had to bend the mixer wire on one for a better fit along the bottom of the kettle.

Also had to remove the screw and gears to lube the bushing ir it makes a scraping noise.

Also added a 20mm bolt where the setscrew is to get the lid knockdown to work right on all of them.

On one i had to rebend the lid flap hinges to round. They were flat and didnt rise at all.

I slid them off and bent them around a screwdriver, now it works fine. The steel is so soft you can basically bend it with fingers.

That’s odd and like Spyderturbo007 said I have had happen on occasion. Wondering if an extra spring (assuming it has one) on there may help too?

My buddy just picked this up at an auction last week. I want it!

Joe

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Awesome find!
You gotta restore it!
http://www.theoldrobots.com/Popcorn.html

Not sure if anyone else orders the Great Northern 8oz packs, but I was running low so I check Amazon to order more. I normally buy the case of 24 which is selling for $40.99, but somehow I stumbled on a case of 40.

I'm not sure how, but the case of 40 is $39.99 and the case of 24 is $40.00. The last few times I've ordered, the 24 count has been between $32 - $40 and I've never seen the 40 count before.

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Northern-Popcorn-Premium-Quality/dp/B009YGQ9CO

Those are the ones I get. I order them 3 at a time in multiple orders since they have a limit.
Free shipping you just cant beat that price.

Damn, I've been paying 2x what I should have been paying forever! I don't know how I missed them before.

I grabbed two cases, so I'll definitely have some popcorn to eat. I normally have people over every weekend and I think half only come for the popcorn.

That’s a good find and wish I knew you needed some as I’d had given you the 1/4 box I have!

I’d come by just to hang out behind the dumpster.

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I want to see a gameroom with a lineup of popcorn machines.

Nice unit!
I like the 4 switches.
Reminds me of the great northern matinee as far as size.

I read through a bunch of this as I've been thinking about picking up a machine recently. Is there a consensus about what's the best to get? I was set on the Paramount 8oz one, but then saw in both reviews and on here that the top has rusted on people.

Was also thinking about this one?

http://www.greatnorthernpopcorn.com/great-northern-popcorn-bar-style-popcorn-popper-machine-commercial-8-oz/

Any thoughts? Would love to join this club, but want to make sure I get one I'm happy with. Thanks for any input.

We had a cheap 4oz from Costco to start - it was too small and really crappy quality. We replaced it with an 8oz Paragon machine from a vending guy on greenfield near 70th. It’s been great.

Edit: B&K Bar Supply is where we got it.

Great northern units are fairly inexpensive on amazon. They work wonderfully.

Add a bolt as in mentioned earlier instead of the grub screw on the kettle to kick the lids down.

8oz kettles make the perfect amount of popcorn

The rust problem hasnt affected me, I have 3 of them.

Just wipe the top and leave it oily.

In fact, just wipe the kettle too.

If any of them are too clean and free of protective oil. They rust out.

You only have to do a serious kettle clean if you burn a batch, it happens.

Soap and water on a teflon scrubby for the walls and bottom.

It depends on how often you plan on using it. I have a Great Northern machine that I love, but I only make popcorn a couple times a month. You definitely get what you pay for with these machines. If you plan on popping a lot of corn, I would consider getting a better quality used machine. The Gold Medal and Cretors commercial machines are built like tanks.

Will I see any benefit going from a Stir Crazy popper to one of the machines ($150 to $200 price range) that are 860 watts?

Thanks