North Richland Hills salsa maker revives her addictive brand after COVID-19 layoff

PLANO, TX – Four years ago, people liked Amber Tinsley’s salsa so much they basically named her fledgling enterprise for her: Crack Salsa.

The addictive condiment was stocked on the shelves of more than a dozen stores around Tarrant County, including at the Sunflower Shoppe in Fort Worth and Colleyville.

“Then, I got too big, too fast,” Tinsley said.

Running Crack Salsa alone, and with a spicy overhead thanks to the need to rent a commercial kitchen, Tinsley put the business on hold: “It was good, but very stressful,” she said.

Tinsley took a job with Top Golf in event sales and put the tasty business on the backburner — until she was laid off last year due to COVID-19 and decided to revive the brand.

This time, her aim was to grow slowly. One factor that added to her stress the first go-round was that her salsa was made from scratch, using fresh vegetables. The finished product required refrigeration, which complicated delivery as well as shipping orders.

The new incarnation of Crack Salsa is condensed to dry spice blend packets (there are three varieties) which customers can use to make their own salsa. Only a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, cilantro, lime and jalapenos are needed. Add the spice mix, and voila: Crack Salsa.

“In today’s climate, people are cooking a lot more, and people are willing to take the 60 seconds it takes to make salsa,” she said.

Customers can order her spice blends online and Tinsley sells them at area farmers markets including those in Burleson and Cleburne, south of Fort Worth.

“The hardest thing is just opening a can of tomatoes,” she said of her reinvigorated product. “And I’m a salsa snob.”