Meet Jose Gomez of Salsas El Don in Rice Military

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Gomez.

Jose, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Salsa de Chile de arbol y Ajo is the one that started it all, I have made that salsa for the last 18 years, two years ago all of this started in my apartment in Mcallen Texas with no name, no label just a 250 ml clear plastic bottle with a white cap, I had 1 blender and used a small sauce pot to boil the peppers. I purchased around 20 bottles for the first batch and never stopped since. Now I have five different products and sell my salsas online, in farmers markets, a meat shop in Mission Texas and by November 7th of 2019 I will begin my journey as a vendor for Whole Foods Market, I will start in 1 store in Midtown and hopefully soon I could be in more stores in Houston and all Texas.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth ride, every project requires hard work and a lot of commitment. I have invested a lot of time into my business, a lot of time away from my family, my friends, because this is a small business with two employees, my wife and me. So we do the production of the salsas, bottle them, label them, buy all the ingredients, it maybe sound simple but a lot of work and sacrifice goes into each bottle of salsa, Combining my job, my family and the business hasn’t been easy. I wake up every day at 5:30 am to be in my office by 6:30 from Monday to Friday, on weekdays I try to do the shopping and schedule 1 day for the production, the weekends are usually for markets, I work Monday to Sunday. I also have three kids, two boys and my little princess and try to do and be as much involved in their activities as possible. I really want to thank my wife because she has made all of this real easy, she helps me a lot with the business and of course, runs the house and takes care of the kids, all that combined with her job, she is an amazing wife and terrific mother.

Please tell us about Salsas El Don.
I have a Mexican Salsa business: I have three salsas, one seasoning rub and one pickled onion with habanero pepper.

Salsa Chile de Arbol y ajo (dried pepper and garlic)
Salsa Verde jalapeño y serrano
Salsa Habanero & Limon
Seasoning Rub
Cebollas Habaneras: red onion, habanero, lime juice, garlic, seasoning, white vinegar.

I think the thing that makes me proud is that I created a business from scratch, and I’m teaching my kids that hard work and dedication even though it sounds like a cliche, really pays off. I started with $30.00 dlls and now it represents a small but steady income to my family.

What sets me apart from others?? I really don’t know, I try to be unique in what I do because it’s something that I use in my meals every day and I enjoy sharing that with everyone else, I love going to markets and see peoples reactions when they try my products because that’s real, you can’t fake that.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. I have enjoyed it all, the good things the bad things, a lot of mistakes and a lot of luck, all that has made me who I am today and I have learned a lot from it, so I wouldn’t change it for anything. I am very great full for everything that has happened to me, for all the people that have helped me along the way, I am amazed by how many good people is out there.

Pricing:

• Salsas $7.00
• Cebollas Habaneras (pickled onions) $7.00
• Seasoning Rub $5.00

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salsaseldon.com
• Phone: 956 2053468
• Instagram: @salsaseldon
• Facebook: Salsas El Don
• Twitter: Salsas El Don
• Yelp: Salsas El Don
• Other: Salsas El Don

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