Photo Gallery: Popping into Creative Kernels

Creative Kernels owner Kim McGuire still has a few finishing touches to put on her location inside a city-owned building near Bicentennial Riverfront Park.

But the gourmet popcorn seller opened this week and plans to be offering popcorn at the River Night community festival Friday evening.

She also expects to have neighbors in the not-too-distant future.

Former Ward 3 Alderman Robyn Sutcliff is opening a custard and ice cream store in the unit just west of McGuire's, while Aurora-based River City Roasters plans to renovate the space north of McGuire's unit.

These units, plus the Geneva Kayak Center, are part of a

River City Roasters owner Erich Goepel, who , signed his lease with the city Tuesday. He needs to build a conference room and kitchen and is shooting to open sometime between early August and Labor Day.

Goepel will be offering sandwiches, paninis, soups, salads, and candies. Of course, he'll also offer bags of coffee and coffee drinks.

"I will have a variety of coffee drinks such as iced coffees, blended coffees, cappuccinos, lattes all your usual coffee shop drinks," Goepel said in an e-mail. "But the two biggest differences are I roast my own coffee and I use single-origin coffees in most of my drinks."

(If you're wondering what single-orgin coffee is, Goepel explains it )

He also plans to eventually move his roaster to the riverside site and roast coffee there as well.