Turning a family tradition into a thriving salsa business
Eddie Martinez became a salsa aficionado at an early age. “My mom made salsa every Sunday when I was growing up and put it in a Tupperware container,” he said. “We had it with most of our meals, then she’d make a fresh batch the following Sunday.”
This was his mother’s version of the celebrated California salsa, which she prepared in the family’s Bakersfield home, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. “It’s a small cow town of 500,000 people,” Eddie said, laughing. He started to prepare salsa himself, following up on his mother’s avocation. It evolved into a pastime that, years later and 2,421 miles from his roots, morphed into a vocation 2,421 miles to the east.
Martinez owns Brochachos Salsa, which he operates from the Canonsburg home he shares with his two sons and one daughter. He and his family relocated there six years ago. Eddie became a minority business owner in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was establishing itself nationwide. Brochachos Salsa made the top three in the Latino-owned business category in the Observer-Reporter’s Best of the Best contest. The name is derived from “brochacho,” a term for a friend or brother. His personal passion for salsa grew while preparing it for family members and friends. “One day, I made a double batch and took it to a neighbor’s house, and they loved it. I started to make a double batch every week, and it started to gain popularity in the neighborhood.” His culinary skills continued to expand, as did his entrepreneurial skills.
Don’t look for a bricks-and-mortar storefront, though. Martinez, who is operating a business for the first time, does not have one – yet. He sells his wares at about a half-dozen farmers markets in Washington County and the South Hills. They include the Main Street Farmers Market (Washington), Canonsburg, Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Robinson Township (Allegheny County) and the Original Famers Market (Cecil Township).
“During the summertime, we average 1,200 to 1,500 bottles of salsa sold at farmers markets,” said Martinez, one of four Brochachos Salsa employees, including a “very supportive girlfriend who helps with research and development.”
“We also do light catering,” he said, “and we’re trying to expand our catering – weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties. We want to see if it’s feasible to have brick and mortar.” Brochachos Salsa, Martinez added, is “really pushing fundraising opportunities within local communities.
“This is truly is a family business,” he said. “We’re not a large mega-corporation, but a true organic business, one that puts braces on my child, pays for my son’s lacrosse trip and musical theater classes. We’ve been blessed enough to serve in local communities in the South Hills and Washington County to support family.”
No, this is not a mega-corporation, but according to Martinez, it does post impressive numbers for a fairly new business. “We ship to 17 states and eight different countries, most of them military related.”
Brochachos Salsa also collaborates with local retail outlets to sell its salsas. He added that its mild, smoked and hot varieties are displayed on shelves at 13 Giant Eagles, stretching from southwestern Pennsylvania to Indiana, and six Giant Eagle Market Districts.
Eddy Martinez is pleased with the trajectory the business has taken in 3 1/2 years, rising from humble beginnings in what had been unfamiliar surroundings for him. “We moved from the Los Angeles area and didn’t know what we were getting into. We didn’t know anybody here. We found Canonsburg to be a small-town community where you see kids running around. It’s been a blessing for us to come in and assimilate in a place like this.”