Santa Paula Salsa Co. honored as
Chamber Member of the Quarter

April 25, 2014
Santa Paula News

Santa Paula Salsa Co., a bottling and food manufacturer is on its way to becoming the king of salsa makers those attending the April Good Morning Santa Paula were told about the Chamber of Commerce Member of the Quarter.

GMSP Emcee Ben Schuck asked Santa Paula Salsa Co. owners Burma and Butch Baselice “Why are you here in Santa Paula?”

“We love it,” said Burma Baselice.

A division of their Red Hot Foods business, Santa Paula Salsa Co. started almost by accident.

Butch Baselice had been in the restaurant business for 25 years and fresh salsa was always served during lunch, until “One day by mistake,” Burma Baselice said, the chef put the salsa pot on the stove and the “smell permeated the whole restaurant... all the customers said ‘what is that?’ and we realized we had a winner.”

The couple’s business now features 28 salsas among various other condiments, sauces and a retail store that carries gift items heavy on food themes. 

Butch Baselice said the company also is a full-service bottler that makes products for others from their recipes, tests batches, works with the state on quality requirements and reporting and bottles, labels and ships the product, although smaller orders-business usually shunned by other bottlers-are often picked up by the customer.

Although the couple used to do about 30 events annually, since they moved from their original 700 square foot facility to a 3,800 square foot complex on Railroad Avenue they have scaled participation back.

But not all: the couple still takes part in the Ventura County Fair and Barbara Kroon, the Chamber Membership Services Director noted the that, “since its inception” the Baselices have participated in the annual Moonlight at the Ranch celebration that benefits the Santa Paula Police & Fire Foundation.

The couple also donates part of the proceeds from sales of their special SPPD K-9 line of salsas to the foundation to benefit the K-9 program.

“We have four police salsas,” said Burma Baselice. “We started the K-9 line of salsas several years ago... we have pictures of the guys with the dogs,” on the four salsa flavors that have varying degrees of hotness.

During the question and answer session Burma Baselice was asked about her unusual moniker.

“It’s a family name,” she didn’t always appreciate, “but I liked it by the time I got to high school.”

The Baselices received a plaque from the chamber noting their Chamber of Commerce Member of the Quarter Award as well as a certificate of recognition from Assemblymember Das Williams.





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