SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — From their Clearwater kitchen to a major league baseball stadium, it's been a remarkable three years for a local Pinellas County family-owned hot sauce business.
Carlos’ Consuming Fire Hot Sauce first started being sold at Tampa Bay farmers markets in 2021.
“I never imagined it would go from something for just my enjoyment, handing it out to friends and family, to now becoming what it is," said owner Carlos Sanchez.
By 2022, Carlos’ Consuming Fire Hot Sauce was the official hot sauce of the Clearwater Thrashers, the Philadelphia Phillies Single A affiliate. It didn’t take long before they were called up to the majors. They are now the only hot sauce offered by the Philadelphia Phillies.
“So it’s known as the City of Brotherly Love, and let me tell you, what I saw, there was excitement,” said Sanchez. “To watch the fans enjoy the sauce, the only word I can tell you is, we were very emotional, very emotional.”
Sanchez and his family were invited to Citizens Bank Park this summer to see the team and their sauce in action.
“We got to see our logo on fan vision. Well, you know that saying, when a man is crying, they usually say it’s the air conditioning? That’s what it felt like,” said Sanchez.
However, when Sanchez returned home, one of the first things he did was visit all those businesses right here in Tampa Bay, like Spice of the Harbor in Safety Harbor, which gave him the opportunity to go from small business to big leagues.
“We’re standing in a store that was the first store that actually picked up our sauce at the first event we did,” said Sanchez.
Spice of the Harbor owner Todd Anderson said he couldn’t be more proud of Sanchez’s accomplishments.
“It's amazing; I saw your first interview with him from his home, in his kitchen, and now look at him: he’s in a billion-dollar stadium and the only one offered there. That’s mad respect,” said Anderson.
“I believe that as small businesses, we’re supposed to help and support one another, so the fact that they took that chance with us definitely opened more doors,” said Sanchez.
So now the question is, how many other stadiums can we expect to see Carlos’ Consuming Fire Hot Sauce being offered?
“I have a lot of thoughts playing in my head; I have reached out to the Rowdies, I’ve reached out to the Rays, we’ll see where those conversations pick up, but there is a lot of potential,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez hopes to be an inspiration for small businesses everywhere—that if you swing for the fences, you could end up hitting a homer.
“I feel like I am a simple whisper, but I’m hoping that through Carlos’ Consuming Fire Hot Sauce, that it is something that’s going to be echoed,” said Sanchez.
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