Break up your weekly dinner routine by scheduling a Fiesta night! Gather up all your favourite ingredients for some delicious nachos, tacos, fajitas or quesadillas! Find the perfect playlist to dance to in the kitchen, and whip up some margaritas while you cook up a tasty spread!
This week we want to tell you the story behind Mrs.Renfro's salsa - a tasty addition for fiesta night!
It was 1940. George and Arthurine had just survived the Great Depression and were ready to strike out on their own. They started selling spices and vinegar out of their house on Gould Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas. Arthurine who preferred to be called Mrs. Renfro kept the books, and George was the salesman.
They learned to evolve the company and products as customer needs changed. Spices turned into syrups and grew into chow chow – a flavorful relish popular in the south. When the business got too big for that little house, they bought a building on Stella Street, and it's been there ever since.
Although the Renfro Foods company had been going strong for more than 20 years, the current Mrs. Renfro’s brand wasn’t born until 1963, created to sell chow chow at fruit and vegetable stands. The mom-and-pop branding felt a little closer to their homegrown roots and honoured the amazing woman who’d helped start it all.
By the mid ’60s, the second generation Renfros Bill and Jack were grown and part of the business, and their little sister, Linda, was romping around the office. In 1970, the boys took over most of the operations. That same decade, Paw-Paw Renfro passed away, but Mrs. Renfro and her children carried on the family legacy.
By the 1970s, they got into hot sauce and picante sauce; by the ’80s, the third generation were starting careers in the business. And in the ’90s, they lost Mam-Maw Renfro.
But her name was about to become known across the world; that was the same decade they started making the Mrs. Renfro’s salsa they’re famous for today.
They found that there were enough classic mild, medium and hot salsa varieties already. So, they decided to take things a little further, rolling out options like Habanero, Black Bean, Peach. Unique, gourmet flavours – but priced the same as the classic ones. It turned out to be their sweet spot.
In 2021, Bill passed away at age 86, but his brother Jack and the third generation continue to run the company, now selling the salsa with Mam-Maw’s name in all 50 states and more than 30 countries. Through it all, they’ve remained a small family company in the same building in that Texas town known as “where the West begins.” They’ve made it because they’ve stayed true to the things Mam-Maw and Paw-Paw Renfro cared about from the beginning: True to family. True to flavour.
Mrs. Renfro's Products available at Anna's:
Black Bean Salsa: Mrs. Renfro's Black Bean Salsa, at a medium heat level, is gluten-free, with no high-fructose corn syrup or added sugar. Made in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ingredients: Tomatoes, Water, Black Beans, Tomato Juice, Green Chile Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Sweet Green Peppers, Jalapeño Peppers, Corn Starch, Salt, Dried Onions, Dried Garlic, Spices, Dried Cilantro.
Heat Level: Medium
-
Ghost Pepper Salsa: Mrs. Renfro's Ghost Pepper Salsa, at our hottest heat level, is certified non-GMO, with no gluten and no added sugar. Made in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ingredients: Tomatoes, Water, Jalapeño Peppers, Tomato Juice, Green Chile Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Corn Starch, Salt, Dried Onions, Dried Ghost Pepper, Dried Garlic, Spices, Dried Cilantro, Ancho Chile Powder, Guajillo Chile Powder, Dried Chipotle Pepper, Mesquite Smoke Flavor, Oleoresin Ghost Pepper.
Heat Level: Hot2
-
Medium Salsa: Mrs. Renfro's Medium Salsa, at a medium heat level, is moderately spicy. This salsa is certified non-GMO and gluten-free, with no high-fructose corn syrup or added sugar. Made in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ingredients: Tomatoes, Water, Tomato Juice, Green Chile Peppers, Sweet Green Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Jalapeño Peppers, Corn Starch, Salt, Dried Onion, Dried Garlic, Spices, Dried Cilantro.
Heat Level: Medium
So tell us...What are you cooking up for Fiesta night?!
