THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 29, 1995 TAG: 9509290183
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 4W EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY JANELLE LA BOUVE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
Onion-chopping time at Tommy's Country Cannery means tears will be flowing next door.
Although the salsa and sauce cannery opened the last week in June, it was not until mid-September, that owners Alex and Mona Tillman, learned about and corrected the seepage of the eye-watering fumes.
Before the business start up, Tillman spent 21 years as an engineer in oil fields in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
``I was a good boy and saved my money,'' he said. ``When I came back, I was looking for some type of business to get into and was eager to get started in something.
``It was like a coin flip,'' he said. ``I debated between buying a bar and buying this business. I figured with a bar you have all these drunks to deal with and long hours. I got a deal on these kettles that was too good to pass up, and I said I've got to go for this.''
Tillman, a Chesapeake resident, spent the month of April looking for a location and ended up in the Cleveland Street industrial area of Virginia Beach.
``Then we met our landlord, Jimmy Harris,'' he said. ``He supported us 1,000 percent. He gave us two-months free rent. He physically came in here and worked with us. He gave me a freezer. If it hadn't been for Mr. Harris, we wouldn't be in business today.''
The neighboring business owner on Pennsylvania Avenue also provided assistance.
``Signmasters donated this great big sign on the front of the building,'' Tillman said. ``We came in one day and the sign was hanging there. It was a surprise.
``He also made four magnetic signs for our vehicles. He wouldn't take a cent,'' Tillman said. ``I never let them run out of salsa.''
It was this neighbor who suffered quietly through the cannery's onion fumes.
``He likes it when we are cooking the salsa because it smells so nice. He also said, `But when you folks go to chopping onions, it would even bring a tear to a glass eye.' ''
Folks at the cannery wear face masks with a snorkle-like tube while manually turning the handle of the onion chopper.
``That way we can breathe without crying while we're chopping,'' Tillman said. ``The exhaust fan takes all of the fumes outside and dumps them out in front of the door.''
When Tillman decided to go into business, he invested $30,000, purchased a dish washer, stainless steel tables and two 60-gallon kettles.
``I decided to give it two years for the product to stand on its own,'' said Tillman.
``I think the products are extremely good because we take a lot of time in getting that recipe set just right and we mix everything in small batches so we can control the quality,'' he said. ``We don't cut corners. We put the best ingredients that money can buy in our products.''
The whole month of July, the seven-member cannery crew busily processed sauces.
``We would manufacture some and stop for a day or two to sell the product,'' he said.
Joe Libreri and Tony Ramey helped Tillman make rounds to sell the processed sauces which currently include barbecue sauce and salsas in three heat levels, hot, medium and a mild salsa for children.
These products are available at four Texaco convenience stores and some smaller stores.
``Our two best accounts are Bergey's Dairy and Central Meat Packing,'' Tillman said.
``We're being considered at five Be-Lo stores, the commissary at Norfolk Naval Base, B.J.'s Wholesale Club, Sam's Club and Rack and Sack. We've been in touch with all of these big boys and submitted our samples. They say it just takes time to be approved,'' said Tillman.
He hopes to to develop other products, such as a sweet-and-sour sauce, both hot and mild mustard sauces, hot pepper sauce, hot chicken wing sauce, steak sauce, spaghetti sauce and a cocktail sauce with horseradish base, which he says is great with seafood.
``The cocktail sauce will be the next one we develop, the next mover and shaker,'' he said.
Tillman, who uses only locally grown peppers, also plans to process some ``hot stuff'' similar to Tabasco or Texas Pete, and a hot vinegar sauce.
Cannery personnel have learned some painful lessons while peeling peppers, one of the major ingredients in their products.
``We've had some interesting times around here peeling peppers and burning our hands,'' he said. ``Jalepeno sets fire to you. You have to wash the inside of your gloves out real good with a good grease-cutting soap that will cut that pepper juice. If you put those same gloves back on without washing them out, you've set your hands on fire right off the bat.'' ILLUSTRATION: Alex Tillman cans and markets his ``Tommy's Surprising Salsa''
in three heat levels: hot, medium and a mild salsa for children.
Staff photo by
CHARLIE MEADS
by CNB