New Shop Boasts Blue-Rasberry Popcorn

Watermelon and blue-raspberry popcorn, chocolate amaretto and hazelnut gelato are just some of the goodies available at a new retail food store in Harvard Square.

Scoop to Nuts, located on 85 Mt. Auburn St., opened last Friday just in time to cater to the crunch of shoppers looking for special Christmas gifts, said the store's owner Allan S. Barnett.

"The impulse nature of this kind of store is perfect for the Square. Popcorn and candy are impulse goods, and this is a prime area for such a store because of the high traffic," said Barnett.

The store displays its variegated edibles on shelves made of inter-connecting red and white plastic pipes that extend from floor to ceiling. Resting on the pipes are 440 bins of candy, dried fruit and nuts, popcorn, granola, cookies and 12 flavors of gelato.

The concept of the store is to "scoop it, bag it, tie it, mark it, and can it," said Barnett. After making, no doubt, many painstaking decisions, shoppers fill containers such as boxes, baskets, and tins with the mouth-watering comestibles of their choice.

"This is a fun place to shop in, you can create your own gift concoction," said the owner. "You buy the accesories to complement the candy," Barnett said, referring to other items in his stores such as postcards, balloons and small ceramic figures.

People spend a lot of time in the store looking around at all the varieties of candies and products, he said. "Everyone has a sweet-tooth, and health conscious people can choose granola or dried fruit, or even the dietetic candy that we offer."

One holiday shopper, Jill R. Prives of Boston, said she was attracted to the store by the lively window display. Once inside she went about filling a tin with chocolate kisses for her boyfriend.

The previous occupant of the retail space, which is right next door to Christy's, was the Gelateri Guisseppe ice cream parlor. Scoops to Nuts has a 10-year lease from a Cambridge based retally company, Barnett said.

Although this is the second store to occupy that space in a period of four years, Sally R. Alcorn, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said that "it is not an excessive turnover."

Barnett, who is from Boston, leased the space last month in order to have it renovated and ready for opening in time for the holidays. He also plans to expand the operation into other parts of the Boston area in the near future.