Gainesville —
A hot commodity has hit the taste buds of Gainesville as the new Big Dawg Salsa Shack stirs the pot and dishes out award-winning salsa — all with the crunch of a chip.
Salsa connoisseurs Darrell and Candy Fitch began to spice things up with their business five years ago, but Mr. Fitch brought heat to the kitchen long before Big Dawg Salsa ever had its name.
As a fireman for North Richland Hills, Mr. Fitch has been perfecting the art of cooking throughout his 16 years of service. It all started when he would play around with recipes in the fire station’s kitchen and test his distinctive dips on the other men in the house. After many empty bowls and ravenous requests for more salsa, Mr. Fitch knew he had concocted quite the mouth-watering mix.
After Mrs. Fitch lost her job as a pharmaceutical representative, the family decided to expand their money making opportunities and they saw a big one in their kitchen. At first, the couple was making and distributing their salsa on a much smaller scale, but after they became a salsa provider for Kroger stores throughout the metroplex, word about the salsa spread and the demand for the peppery jars got higher.
Mrs. Fitch recalled the first time she realized that their salsa was something people really craved. It was five years ago when she and her husband set up a booth at a North Central Texas College craft show to bring their product to the public and not just the stores. Mrs. Fitch remembered how one sample of the salsa would have people walking away with two jars in their arms, and maybe some sweat on the brow too.
Since then, all things Big Dawg Salsa have gone on to win multiple awards in Texas cooking contests. On the walls of the shop, blue ribbons are a visual cue that this salsa is something worth slobbering over. It has entered competitions such as the Austin Hot Sauce Festival and the Houston Hot Sauce Festival, and has yet to walk away without some sort of ribbon on the bottle.
Not only is the distinct taste of Big Dawg Salsa completely homemade, but the jars that hold the fire are handcrafted too, as Mr. Fitch does all of the artwork for the new brand name. After he drew-up some award winning sketches at the firehouse, it was decided that his hand should draw the face of Big Dawg Salsa.
After a few years of making runs to Kroger stores in North Texas, Mrs. Fitch jumped at the opportunity to have her own shelves to put the product on. Mrs. Fitch’s father owns the building where the salsa shack is located and it seemed like the perfect opportunity and the next logical step for the business.
“It’s been a weird change, going from bringing salsa to the back of Kroger to having it here in our own store,” Mrs. Fitch said.
Though it has been a bit surreal for the family-owned and operated business to see things come together so well, they have enjoyed the change that their zesty business has brought to them.
“Instead of people looking at (the salsa) on the shelf of some other store, I can actually be here to tell them about it,” Mrs. Fitch said.
Big Dawg Salsa has eight different kinds of salsa and five different kinds of hot sauce in the store that claims you’ll “get caught licking the bowl,” but other peppery products are sold in the store as well, such as a bloody mary mix and spices that heat up any dish.
Future plans to expand the business are already underway, as the couple is looking to serve lunch, “salsa bar” style, wherein salsa is laid out with fresh meat and all the fixings to create a plate for everyone’s taste. As of right now, the store is opened Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Big Dawg Salsa Shack is located at 708 E. California St. in Gainesville. For more information on Big Dawg Salsa visit www.bigdawgsalsa.com or call (817) 507-6280.
Local News
Related Photos
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Candy (left) and Darrell Fitch are shown inside their new shop, the Big Dawg Salsa Shack. Each owner is holding their favorite type of homemade salsa in front of one of their fire truck shelves. Candy Fitch likes the taste of “Texas Black Bean” while Darrell Fitch likes the kick of the extra hot “Burn Your Face Off” salsa. Photo by Audrey Broyles
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