By Pat Lawrence
Pamela Rowley |
West Virginians love their hot dog sauce and Pamela Rowley has cooked
up a commercially available taster’s choice with her personal
recipe for Sammi Sauce, the hot dog dressing of discriminating palates.
The sauce is a family recipe that Pamela tweaked over the years until
it was just right. “Whenever I made it, people were so enthusiastic
and would encourage me to sell it. I’d been planning this for
years, but didn’t quite have the courage.”
Pam says the gastric bypass she had performed in September 2002 played
a big part in boosting her confidence enough to take the business
plunge. She has lost almost a hundred pounds. “I’m half
the person now that I was last year!” She says the operation
positively changed her whole outlook. “It’s been a big
change. I’m not sure I would ever have had the confidence to
launch a business before.”
There were complication from an infection for the first two months,
but Pam says she already had developed health problems from her weight
and could see more in the future. “There are risks, but it has
been worth it.”
Christened after her nickname, the first Sammi Sauce was delivered
this August to the Plum Street Foodland. It quickly became a store
favorite, establishing a permanent place on the supermarket shelf.
Pam and her friends and family make the sauce in Athens, OH in a
community, commercial kitchen that they rent by the hour from ACENET,
the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks. They make about 100
gallons each time, canning them by hand in 12-ounce jars. Her youngest
daughter helps with labeling. Pam says, “It’s ready to
eat, but most people like to add ground meat to make the best hot
dog sauce. Others like it plain and use it to make great sloppy joe
sandwiches.”
Sammi Sauce sells for $2.99 in grocery stores like Foodland and IGA,
as well as specialty stores like Bond Drug Store. Becky Oppe, Vice
President of Foodland and owner TWJ Inc., says, “Sammi Sauce
is a customer favorite. They come back for more.” Foodland’s
interest in serving the sweet, spicy sauce in their deli department
has Pam implementing new packaging and production plans. “We’re
getting ready to offer a fresh sauce, with meat already added for
restaurants and delis to serve.”
Pam says SS Foods will soon be coming out with a wing sauce and a
barbecue sauce. She is selling about 30 cases a month now and works
full time to find new customers and meet the requests of existing
ones. Soon the sauce will be available for sale in gallon size. Pam
says ACENET has been invaluable in starting the business. “They
make it very convenient to work out of the Athens location with the
community kitchen. All the ingredients are delivered and accepted
there. They are wonderfully supportive.”
In December, by popular demand, Sammi Sauce will be available online
by the case. “People try the sauce when they are traveling through
Parkersburg or Belpre and want to know where they can buy it when
they get home.” Sammi Sauce was a featured West Virginia product
last month at a special Christmas Craft and Food Show in Charlotte,
NC sponsored by the WV Dept.of Agriculture and Mountain RC &D,
Inc. “It was a hit!”
After the big year she has had, Pam wasn’t really surprised.
“The more people that try Sammi Sauce, the more we sell. We’re
just going to build steadily. We don’t want to get too big,
too fast, but I know in my heart this is something good. I want Sammi
Sauce to be a household name.”
Contact Pamela Rowley, SS Foods at 304-863-9166 or visit www.sammisauce.com
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