grammaticality - Is "there're" (similar to "there's") a correct contraction?

Q: "Do you have any juice?"
A: "Yes, there's some in the fridge."

Sounds perfectly fine to me, but:

Q: "Do you have any towels?"
A: "Yes, there's some in the closet."

Does not.

I asked for towels - plural - so wouldn't "Yes, there're some in the closet," in which there are is turned into a contraction be the correct way to say it?

Spellcheck, however, doesn't like "there're", and I think I'm the only person I've ever heard use the word "there're". Even folks who I know say "there are" shorten it to "there's" when possible.

Am I saying it wrong, or are both forms acceptable?

Answer

There're is common in speech, at least in certain dialects, but you'll rarely see it written. If I were being pedantic, I'd advise you to use there are in your example, because there is is definitely wrong, so there's could be considered wrong as well. But a huge number of English speakers, even those that are well-educated, use there's universally, regardless of the number of the noun in question, so you will probably not receive any odd looks for saying or writing there's, and if you do, just cite the fact that it can't be incorrect if a majority of people use it. As for me (a native New Englander), I use both, but may use there's in place of there're if I'm speaking quickly.