Fritos, San Antonio, and Entrepreneurship
Remember the Camino Real and the people who came to San Antonio to live their dreams? Well, here’s a story in that vein.
I’ll give you the punchline early: Fritos were created in San Antonio. Yup. The chip that tastes sooo good in a Frito Chili Pie was created right here!
Now, I’m a sucker for a good entrepreneurship story and I love chili pies, so this makes me really happy.
Mr. Elemer Doolin is the star of this story, he’s the developer of the Frito. He didn’t create it, he grew it! He originally owned an ice cream business here in the city that was facing some difficulty so he was looking to diversify.
One day he went into a cafe to buy something to eat with his sandwich. Apparently he picked up a bag of Fritos and that was that. He bought the chips and found out that the original owner was looking to move back to Mexico. Mr. Doolin bought the recipe, the existing accounts, and the manufacturing equipment for $100.
He, his mother, and his brother spent evenings in the kitchen making Fritos and he would sell them during the day. This went on for a few months before the business took off and began its exponential growth.
Now, Mr. Doolin bought the recipe in 1932. What makes this story so impressive is that not only did he buy it during the Depression, but he made it through the Depression.
Actually during 1933, officially the worst year of the Depression, he and his brother increased production from 10lbs per hour to 100lbs per hour. Even more impressively they developed production lines in both Houston and Dallas the same year!
The rest of the story up until Mr. Doolin’s death in 1958 can be found on the Frito-Lay website.
Dear Sir(s),
It is apparently a commonly held belief that the original creator of the Frito was a poor little vendor nobody anxious to scurry back across the border to his origins in Mexico. Actually, the Frito’s creator was a very succesful and wealthy (resident of the now-historic King William District of San Antonio) grain miller who simply did not want to dedicate a great deal of time or energy developing a marketing plan for his whimsical product. He considered Mr. Doolin a friend and sold him the rights to his snack for a song, much to my dismay. I am the granddaughter of the Frito’s creator, Don Bartolo Martinez, who died of pneumonia (as a result of his dedication to work, rather than attention to his own well-being) many years before I was born. His mill was then assumed by his sons (El Azteca B. Martinez Sons’ Co.) and subsequently bought out by my father, the youngest son, J.F. Martinez, who built a new mill across the street (S. Leona, just east of downtown) and sold it to a Mexican businessman. The original mill was designated an historic landmark, but succumbed at the hands of some deranged arsonist. However, B. Martinez Son’s continues its operation.
By the way, my father perfected the first processing and production of “instant” masa, but his “Tamalina” was virtually quashed by a much larger company (I believe it was Pioneer Flour Mills) which basically stole the process for its own marketing.
I apologize if this communication sounds bitter; I just wanted to clarify that my grandfather and father were permanent residents (I’m a seventh generation Texan) and hardworking contributors to the history of San Antonio business.
Sincerely,
Martha Martinez
Wow, Ms. Martinez. That’s a great story and thank you for sharing it with me. I’m sorry things went that way for your family.
I got my version of the story straight from the Frito website. What kind of response have you gotten from them?