Our Story

 

Welcome to the heart of our journey. Our Story page is more than just a timeline—it's a celebration of our evolution, milestones, and the people who made it all possible.

From our humble beginnings, we’ve crafted our unique salsas with passion and tradition. Discover how a simple idea grew into a thriving endeavor, driven by passion and our commitment to excellence. Your connection with us is a part of this ongoing story, and we’re excited to share it with you.

Poster

2011  |  2012  |  2016  |  2022  |  2023

Simple Beginnings

Like many Mexican American families living along the Rio Grande Valley.  During the 1970s and 1980s, the Lopez family worked as migrant farm workers. All 7 siblings worked the fields from early childhood until they graduated high school. The children left school every April and worked throughout the summer months. Their typical workday was from dawn to dusk.

The siblings attended night school after they finished their workday. When the harvest season ended, they'd return to Weslaco and enroll in school after the school year had already begun. Throughout this time, they gained valuable life lessons like having a strong work ethic and how to persevere through adversity. The founders of Las Delicias Distributors, LLC, Jaime and Juan, aspired for more. Their humble beginnings motivated them to seek a higher education. Juan received a degree in accounting. Jaime served in the U.S. Marine Corps and earned a degree in nursing.

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Birthplace of Salsa El Gallo

2011-Brownsville, TX 

Birthplace of Salsa El Gallo

With the support of family, friends, and their spouses, the Lopez Brothers took a leap of faith and launched Las Delicias Distributors, LLC on September 14, 2011. They set out to manufacture Salsa El Gallo, a premium brand of Mexican salsa from the garage of Jaime and Veronica's home in Brownsville, Texas.

 

The final recipes for the original homestyle flavors were approved by Jaime Lopez, Veronica Lopez, Lilia Peña (Veronica's Mother), Gamaliel Vallejo (friend), and Juan J. Lopez. After brainstorming for a brand name, "El Gallo" was suggested by Adina Lopez because it represented the strength and grit of their Mexican heritage. The group decided on Salsa El Gallo Toreado.

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2012-Brownsville, TX 

After a few months of manufacturing out of the garage, the brothers leased a 900 sq. ft. commercial location in Brownsville. Jaime and Juan worked every aspect of the business- from manufacturing to sales. The first local chain to carry Salsa El Gallo on its shelves was A.V. Lopez Supermarket.

 

When the Brownsville location was no longer large enough to hold inventory, Juan transported it to his home in Weslaco where his children helped unload and organize it in their game room and living room.

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2016-WESLACO, TX 

In 2016, the operation was moved to the Lopez’s hometown of Weslaco when the brothers leased a portion of this building. Within a year, the company occupied the entire building. The company had 3 employees- 2 fillers and 1 sealer. Salsa pouches were filled manually by pulling down on a lever and mixing was done entirely by hand. By 2019, the company had nearly 20 employees, custom-built motorized mixers were mixing the salsa, and salsa pouches were being filled with semi- automatic filling machines controlled by foot pedals.

 

In early 2020, a warehouse was leased in Weslaco to store supplies and inventory. The company also leased a 26 ft. box truck and wrapped it with the Salsa El Gallo logo. Inventory and supplies were transported from the factory to the Weslaco warehouse and to H-E-B's regional warehouse in San Antonio. 

 

In December 2021, the company was put at risk of closing when it was forced to vacate the building.

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2022-Mcallen, TX 

Salsa El Gallo was well on its way to becoming a well-recognized brand in Texas. The staff was working at full capacity to keep up with purchase orders from its largest buyer, H-E-B. The company desperately needed a suitable building to be able to fulfill its production needs and to be able to provide for its staff members. By divine intervention, Juan met a businessman at church years earlier who became a friend and mentor to him. He offered the use of his well-equipped facility in McAllen. Operations were relocated to McAllen and the first production day was on January 10, 2022. The facility's industrial equipment played a vital role in becoming more efficient while scaling production.

 

The Salsa El Gallo team commuted to the McAllen facility for over a year and a half. For that, the Lopez families will be eternally grateful!

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2023-Donna, TX 

Las Delicias Manufacturing & Distribution Center

After 10 years of leasing buildings to conduct their manufacturing, in 2021 the founders acquired 3 acres with a 6,100 sq. ft. building in Donna, Texas. While salsa manufacturing was carrying on in McAllen, remodeling was taking place in donna. Industrial processing equipment was purchased for the new facility. Supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic caused countless delays, setting back their projected move-in date by more than 7 months.

 

The newly remodeled 14,000 sq. ft. facility consists of executive offices, Salsa El Gallo's manufacturing center, a commercial rental kitchen, and the warehouse distribution center.