Supporting vendors at the farmers markets is a special experience, because you get to have a moment of connection with the person who grew or made your food. “That’s what shopping small business is. You’re making an investment into somebody’s life and somebody’s story,” Tony Wilson of Papa Tony’s Hot Sauce says.  

Tony has a background in teaching and performance, so chatting with people at the farmers markets comes naturally to him. Although he is a recent Seattleite, he has built strong networks within his community, which is one factor that has made his business so successful so early on. 

Papa Tony’s Hot Sauce began in New Orleans in the middle of the pandemic. Like many people, the pandemic shutdowns gave Tony and his family an excess of unexpected time that they now had to fill in creative ways. His family began experimenting with cooking and watching food shows. He found himself especially interested in processing peppers.  

One evening, when they were making carne asada for dinner, Tony experimented with making his own garlic habanero and mango habanero hot sauces. He posted the sauces on Instagram, like he had been doing with all of his other recipes so far, and the post gained some traction. People were asking to buy the sauces from him, so he got some supplies, made some more, and sold 300 bottles in the first month. 

He joined two farmers markets in New Orleans but was mostly selling sauces online. The markets there weren’t super well-attended, and Tony found himself competing against the biggest names in hot sauce that were all based in New Orleans. People already had their favorite sauces and didn’t really have an interest in trying new ones.  

When the Wilsons moved to Seattle a year ago, Tony knew that he wanted to continue to see where the hot sauce business could go. He was tired of how teaching had been keeping him away from his family for hours on end, and he wasn’t ready to give up all of the time they had spent together during the lockdown.  

After a few months of adjusting to their new life in West Seattle, working in a commissary kitchen for Mamnoon, and doing the behind-the-scenes work of getting the proper permitting and business licenses, things started picking up for Tony’s business. Through a connection at Homestreet Bank, Tony was connected with the West Seattle Junction, the Chamber of Commerce, and Neighborhood Farmers Markets. These support networks helped him get into the West Seattle Farmers Market, which was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and got him a feature on King 5 News.  

Now Tony gets to spend the market days with his wife and young daughter, the three of them selling his sauces and making friends in their community. Running his own business is hard work, and he’s working longer hours than his teaching days, but he gets to share the work with his family. Tony is proud to say that his daughter will grow up as a market baby, with a market family. She calls the markets “the party,” which is a fitting name. When it comes down to it, parties and the markets are just about friends gathering around food to have a good time.  

You can join the Papa Tony’s party at the West Seattle Farmers Market on Sundays from 10-2!