Aqua Pop Popcorn and Johnnie Byrd Brewing Company are both showing great success as well as Swans Apparel, which has already succeeded as a women’s clothing store has opened a department for men’s clothing.

Aqua Pop is a local popcorn business run by Amy and Adam Manoucheri. The idea for the business came when Amy created blue popcorn for the album cover for the band Adam is in, “Aqua Dog.” Soon after, the demand for Amy’s creative popcorn began to grow and after three years of providing popcorn for special events the couple decided to create a business out of it.

“We didn’t expect the large response at all, Wayne and the surrounding areas have been amazing towards us,” said Amy. “It’s really helpful that we have the help of other businesses reviving Main Street.”

Aqua Pop is open Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The store plans to add arcade games, pinball and Wi-Fi to expand the store and create a more family-friendly environment.

Aqua Pop offers new recipes every week and will be offering exclusive popcorn for events like the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day. The store is looking to making popcorn available in Pender and Wakefield, as well as offering online orders.

Johnnie Byrd Brewing Company, named after the owner’s grandfather, has also shown great success since its grand opening. They have six taps that are open to the general public and one that is a members only tap. This week, they will be brewing their 35th batch of beer, and have only re-brewed three beers.

The most popular beer is a tie between Abe’s Honey Porter and the White Girl Milk Stout. The company will be serving Nebraska-made wines and spirits in May-June and hopes to have a Moscow Mule that is mixed with a homemade ginger beer and Nebraska-made copper mugs.

“Wayne is a progressive community; it’s why we chose to locate our business here,” said owner Greg Ptacek. “The faculty and staff at the college have been very welcoming and we hope to catch a few college students along the way.”

They also make their own root beer, sarsaparilla, birch beer and several other sodas, which include cream, cola, raspberry and passion fruit.

“We have quite a few expansions planned; in the spring, we will be adding a beer garden on the north side of the building, which will seat 50 people,” said Ptacek “We plan to start ramping up production within the next few months and start distributing our beer to other bars in Nebraska.”

The biggest expansion plan is within a few years to start producing their own spirits and making Scotch-style and Canadian-style whiskeys as well as vodka and gin.

Local popular clothing store Swans Apparel has opened up a new store called Swans for Men located at 204 Main St. The store is run by Jen Claussen.

“Once I had learned the dynamics of the Wayne community, I realized there was a definite desire and need for men’s clothing locally,” said Claussen. “It was then a goal to be able to offer those missing pieces for the male population right here in Wayne.”

Swans for Men is open Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Difficulties with a new business is definitely trying to get word out that there is an option for dress shirts, ties, dress pants as well as casual wear right here in town,” said Claussen “I don’t enjoy the behind-the-scene stuff like bookwork, so you very rarely catch me in my office during business hours. I absolutely love what I do on a daily basis. I get to play dress up with life-size dolls, it’s every little girl’s dream!”