A Spicy Civilian Life
So what does a tough Marine do after serving his country for 20 years? Well, Dave decided to make salsa!
After a 20-year military career, Dave retired from service in June, 2008. While in the Marines, he was a cook responsible for feeding 3,000 soldiers a day. Salsa was frequently on the menu, but Dave felt that the recipe in use left much to be desired, so he decided to make a batch of his own. “The
other cooks tried it and loved it,” he remembers.
Today, Dave is enjoying success as the co-owner of Jar Head Salsa, along with his father, Tom Smith, and family friend, Glen Brittingham. The first official pint of Jar Head Salsa was made in 2009; the business started out small, producing just 40 pints at the VFW 822 in Grand Blanc. Consumer demand grew to the point that the team needed more space to make it. Now, production takes place in the Davison Country Club kitchen. My City Magazine caught up with Dave, Tom and Glen to see why Jar Head Salsa is flying off the shelves at local stores and farmers’ markets all across the state.
The top-secret recipe includes eight different vegetables, including fresh tomatoes, green, red, orange yellow and Hungarian peppers, citrus juices and a variety of spices. “You can see the difference,” says Tom of the freshly made salsa, which is very low in sodium, according to Dave. “You don’t have to add salt to get flavor; the veggies and spices provide the flavors.” Tom describes the taste as “layers of flavor that complement each other.” “First you taste sweet, then tangy and then spicy,” he added. Just three people know the secret recipe: Dave, Tom and Dave’s mom Sandy, whom they describe as the “not so silent partner.”
Marketing of Jar Head Salsa is handled by Glen, who never cared much for salsa until he tasted Dave’s recipe and loved it. “I was amazed by how good it tasted!” exclaimed Glen. Salsa without chips, however, is not good business practice, so the company started selling three varieties of chips to go with their salsa – traditional corn with sea salt or chili-lime sea salt, and whole grain with garlic sea salt, all made at a facility in Rockwood, MI. They now sell over 1,000 bags of chips per week and 1,300 pints of salsa, fresh and jarred. Of course, chips and salsa can make you thirsty, in which case you can reach for Jar Head Blood Stripe Bloody Mary Mix, which is named for the scarlet stripe that decorates the trouser seams of the U.S. Marine Corps dress uniform. Rather than discarding the liquid from the processed vegetables, Glen thought it should be put to good use. “They were creating this expensive juice and just throwing it away,” he laughed. Rather than serve the drink over ice, which waters it down, they suggest pouring it over frozen shrimp and enjoying a shrimp cocktail! The company also sells a delicious, cheesy KAeso Dio Dip, of which they sell about 300 pints per week.
Locally, Jar Head products can be purchased at Oliver T’s, Colony Market, Davison Farmers’ Market, LP’s Party store and Michigan Market. The product is also sold at craft shows all over Lower Michigan and is available for purchase online, says Tom. A portion of proceeds from Jar Head Salsa sales are donated to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “Over the last five years, we’ve given back $33,250 to the veteran’s organization,” says Dave proudly.
Life has been good for this retired Marine. He will soon marry his fiancé, Geneen Elston, and will continue to do what he loves – making delicious salsa with the finest ingredients and giving back to his fellow veterans. “Come to the Davison Farmers’ Market on Saturday if you want to meet the guy on the label of Jar Head Salsa,” he laughed. ♦
Jar Head Salsa is flying off the shelves: 1,300 pints of salsa a week, plus 1,000 bags of chips!
Photography by Mike Naddeo
