How Portland’s Hot Mama Salsa Evolved To Become a Chip Company

Inside a cavernous production facility in Southeast Portland, the air smells like 'heavenly productivity': toasted corn, freshly roasted salsa, and fresh-baked bread. This is the headquarters of Hot Mama Salsa, a space once home to the New Seasons test kitchen. Founder Nikki Guerrero spent two years painstakingly rehabbing the building into a thriving hub for local food.

For nearly two decades, Guerrero viewed her business through the lens of the sauces and salsa that she started with. She launched in 2008 out of a North Portland bar, trading prep work and salsa for kitchen time.

"Honestly, I had no idea about what food business was when I started," she said. "It was almost an art experience experiment like, 'OK, do people want salsa? Will they even like salsa here?'"

It turns out, Portland really liked the salsa. But lately, something else has taken over the conversation.

"The biggest surprise probably has been the just frenzy around our tortilla chips," Guerrero said, gesturing toward the frying stations where 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of chips are prepped every single week. "I mean, they just are like a wildfire. People are just going nuts over them."

If you remember our Tortilla Chip Taste Test, this shouldn't come as a shock. When we pitted local brands against each other, the chips Hot Mama Salsa produces for Zupan’s Markets didn't just win — they beat everyone else by a country mile.

It’s a funny twist for a brand that didn't consider itself a "chip company" until recently. For years, the chips were just a vehicle for samples at farmers markets, sold in simple zip-tied bags because Guerrero’s kitchen wasn't built for mass production. When the pandemic hit and restaurant orders dried up, she finally had the space to say "yes" to the grocery stores that had been begging for them.

"I realized, OK, so now I guess we're a chip company," she said with a shrug and a laugh.

While you might know them as the Zupan's house brand, these award-winning chips are everywhere. You can find the exact same chips under the Hot Mama Salsa label at New Seasons, local independent stores, and at their popular farmers market stands.

The secret is that they are thick white corn tortillas fried in peanut oil, which gives them a rich, buttery finish. This base is so good that it’s even the foundation for the "Local Heat" chips found at Market of Choice stores across Oregon. For those, the chips are dusted in a special seasoning blend created for the retailer.

Walking through the "kettle room," Guerrero pointed out the labeling and filling stations where they process their famous hot sauces. It’s hard to imagine Portland as a "mild" town, but she remembers when it was exactly that.

"I started making hot sauces when Californians started moving up here and wanted heat," she explained. "Because when I started in 2008, nobody — nobody wanted heat."

Today, her passion for heat has evolved into a full-blown "pepper program." She works with local farmers in Hillsboro and Coburg to grow specialty peppers that aren't commercially available — varieties she chooses for their floral qualities or depth of flavor.

"My passion for chili peppers just totally took over — flourished while I was out on the farm," she said.

For her, it’s about more than just a great-tasting snack.

"I think food is very political and I think that running a small food business is activism," Guerrero says. She’s direct: small makers are the only real alternative to an industrialized food system that she believes is "destroying our health and our food economy."

When you buy a bag of Hot Mama chips, you’re supporting the farming families she partners with and opting out of the industrial brands she says rely on chemical additives. 

"You’ve got to have other values for doing this," she adds, "because like, making food is not a way to make money."

If you’re new to Hot Mama Salsa, Guerrero recommends grabbing a bag of chips and a fresh salsa — specifically her Grandma’s Chile, the heirloom recipe she grew up on — and sharing them with friends on a sunny day with a few beers.

And if you want a pro-level move, grab the Chili Oil. She uses it for "Mexican Spaghetti" (noodles, chili oil, cotija, and cilantro) or just drizzled over roasted veggies. 

As she puts it: "It’s just a little — a little bit of awesome."

Before I left the Hot Mama Salsa facility, Guerrero shared one more thing — a heads-up for Stumptown Savings readers.

If you want to load up on the chips that won our taste test, head to New Seasons in May.

Trust me, your pantry (and your backyard barbecues) will thank you.