Today we’d like to introduce you to Seamus Kolb.
Hi Seamus, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Carroll’s Corn was my first job. I was 15, a shy Rochester kid more interested in skateboarding than small talk, and I needed money for new boards. I found the listing in the Rochester Post Bulletin — which is funny, because years later I’d be back at the Post Bulletin myself.
Pat Carroll hired me in 2006. He’d been a swim coach before opening the shop in 1993, and he ran the place the same way he ran a pool deck — high expectations, a lot of laughs, and a knack for pulling more out of people than they thought they had. Pat’s own story is one of those Rochester accidents: he moved here when his wife got a nursing job at Mayo, couldn’t land a coaching gig, and was torn between two ideas — a VHS rental shop or a popcorn store. Thank god he picked popcorn.
After UND, where I graduated in 2014 with a double major in Geography and Fine Art, I came back to Rochester as a District Sales Manager for the Post Bulletin — full circle from the kid who used to read the want ads. A year in, I came back to Carroll’s to learn how a small business really worked. Pat handed me more responsibility a little at a time.
Then COVID hit. We laid off our team, walk-in customers vanished, and we didn’t know if the doors would open again. So we built something new. Every Friday during the shutdown, volunteers helped us deliver free “COVID survival kits” — popcorn, candy, soda — to more than 200 Rochester homes. Right around that time, Hy-Vee West Circle called and asked if they could carry our product. Their first order barely hit the shelf before it sold out. We brought our team back, B2B took off, and Hy-Vee is still one of our best customers.
That same year, Pat’s wife retired from Mayo, and Pat took a leap of faith on me. In 2021, at 30, I became the owner of Carroll’s Corn. I’ll be grateful for that for the rest of my life. What I didn’t realize on day one is how different being a great employee is from being an effective leader — I’ve spent the last five years growing into that role through podcasts, books, coaching, and a team that has helped me every step.
We’re now a 25-person team serving more than 150 businesses across the Midwest. We partnered locally with Scheels in 2021, expanded into the entire Scheels network in 2025, and opened a sister store — Carroll’s Corner Store — inside the Mayo Clinic subway the same year. A new manufacturing facility goes live in late 2026.
I love this business to the bottom of my heart. I became the leader I am today thanks to Pat, thanks to Red — one of our longtime employees — and thanks to a community that has shown up for us at every turn. I’d rather sell popcorn and make people smile than sell insurance any day. It might sound cheesy, but we really are a family with one common goal: delivering joy, one kernel at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I bought the business in 2021, I wasn’t flush with cash. I’d been working at a popcorn shop. What I was willing to bet was sweat. Pat believed in me enough to structure the deal as a contract for deed, which meant he was essentially investing in me — taking on the risk that I’d actually deliver on the foundation he’d built. That kind of trust is humbling, and it was nerve-wracking, especially with everything COVID was doing to the retail landscape at the time.
The only way through it was to pivot. We couldn’t lean on downtown foot traffic the way the business had for thirty years. So we opened up new sales channels at the same time — e-commerce, B2B, and a sharper brick-and-mortar play. Each one became a pillar we could fall back on when another softened.
We’ve been scaling since day one of my ownership. There has never been a “we made it, now we coast” moment. Every year has demanded new packaging, new processes, new equipment, new hires, new partners. What’s made it work is the team. I have to commend the people of Carroll’s Corn — they’ve been the drivers of change in this business, not me. I bring the vision; they make it real. We’ve grown dramatically out of a relatively small footprint inside the Kahler Grand Hotel, which I think speaks to how creative and resilient that group is.
The hardest part of being an owner isn’t any single struggle — it’s that the struggles never line up. You’re hiring while you’re shipping; you’re fixing a process while a new partner is asking for more product; you’re learning to lead while the business is asking you to make a decision in the next five minutes. You don’t get to finish one thing before the next one shows up.
But that’s also the part I love. Every quarter looks different. Every problem makes us better. I’d take this set of struggles any day of the week.
As you know, we’re big fans of Carroll’s Corn. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Carroll’s Corn has been making gourmet popcorn in downtown Rochester since 1993. We’re a small-batch operation with a big footprint — equal parts Rochester institution and Midwest popcorn company. People who grew up here remember us. People who move here discover us. People passing through Mayo find us. And businesses across the Midwest stock us on their shelves.
What we make. Popcorn worth talking about. Our flavor lineup is anchored by Butter, Cheese, Caramel, and our signature Triple Mix — and from there we spin into the fun stuff: Beer Cheese, Jalapeño Cheddar, Dill Pickle, White Cheddar, Buffalo Breath, and a rotating bench of seasonal flavors we love testing. Everything is popped and seasoned fresh daily by our team here in Rochester.
Where to find us. Three doors and one website:
The downtown popcorn shop inside the Kahler Grand Hotel — the original.
Carroll’s Corner Store, our 2025 sister concept inside the Mayo Clinic subway — popcorn, snacks, drinks, and bodega energy.
Wholesale & B2B — we partner with retailers, gift programs, fundraisers, and corporate customers across the Midwest.
You’ll find us at Hy-Vee in Rochester and on a growing list of Minnesota grocery store shelves. And the easiest one of all: walk into any Scheels in the country and we’ll be there.
carrollscorn.com — we’ll ship anywhere in the country.
What sets us apart. Small batch, made fresh every day, by a 25-person team that genuinely loves what they do. We don’t try to be the biggest popcorn brand in the country. We try to be the one a partner can rely on, the one a customer remembers, and the one that gets it right every single time. Scaling alongside a Midwest powerhouse like Scheels without losing what makes us us is the achievement I’m most proud of.
Brand pride. Over the last five years we’ve evolved the look-and-feel of Carroll’s Corn to match what’s inside the bag — bold, warm, and unmistakably Rochester. The red, the yellow, the Est. 1993 stamp, the packaging, the storefronts, the photography — every touchpoint is designed to feel like a small, well-loved local brand that’s also ready for a national shelf. I’m proud of every piece of it.
For Voyageur readers. We’ve been part of Rochester for thirty-plus years, and we plan on being here for thirty more. Stop in downtown, swing by the Corner Store at Mayo, grab a bag at Scheels, or find us at carrollscorn.com. Either way — we’ll deliver joy, one kernel at a time
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Most people see Carroll’s Corn and assume I spend my days in the kettle. The truth is, I’ve got a few sides to me that most people don’t see.
I’m a self-taught AI developer, building the tools that help drive Carroll’s Corn forward — the morning report I read with my energy drink, the production dashboards our team works off, and the design work that shows up across our brand. None of that was on my resume when I bought the company. I just kept learning until the tools I needed existed.
That same itch shows up on the art side. I have a Fine Art degree from UND, and I still paint and draw — mostly abstracts — and play piano whenever I can sit down at one. The popcorn shop is its own kind of canvas. Every label, every flavor, every storefront carries design DNA that traces back to those years.
And the newest hat — and the best one: fatherhood. My wife Anna and I welcomed our daughter Loretta in 2026.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carrollscorn.com
- Instagram: @carrollscorn
- Facebook: @carrollscorn
