ABOUT EL PINTO CO-PACKING
EL PINTO HISTORY, FAMILY AND THE “SALSA TWINS”
Jack and Connie Thomas built El Pinto Restaurant in 1962. Their dream was to serve the recipes of Connie’s mother Josephina Chavez-Griggs. They decided to name the restaurant El Pinto meaning “the spot”. It started as a one room restaurant with just a handful of tables and a small kitchen. They built their home nearby so they could raise their family and be close to their business. Family has always been the heart and soul of El Pinto. The Thomas’ six children all helped in the restaurant while they were growing up. It became a destination restaurant where families traveled for miles to enjoy the delicious food and the beautiful north valley of Albuquerque.
“The Salsa Twins”, Jim and John Thomas, purchased the restaurant and expanded with more patios and a spectacular indoor garden room containing many live plants and a waterfall. The restaurant now seats over 1,200 guests in our five pet friendly patios, five indoor dining rooms, and cantina. On any given weekend there may be a wedding, corporate team building event, a movie that is filming, and friends and family enjoying a dinner out under the cottonwoods. The patios are enclosed during the winter months so guests can still enjoy the patio and sit near a warm fire. El Pinto is one of the largest restaurants in the Southwest and is located on the original Route 66 and adjacent to the historic Rio Grande River.
The salsas and sauces served in the restaurant were so popular that customers asked to take them home. The Twins worked day and night to perfect the process of bottling the restaurant products, beginning with a 35-gallon kettle in the kitchen. Today, El Pinto uses 120 tons of chiles a year, can make over 12,000 cases a day and has the capacity to make 20 million jars a year in their 35,000 square foot manufacturing and storage facility.
The quality of El Pinto products begins with the chile. To Jim and John, quality is of the utmost importance. Similar to a fine wine, chile needs to be grown and nurtured in the right environment to embody the best flavor of the chile. In keeping with Josephina’s recipes all chiles used in the El Pinto products are grown exclusively in the famous Hatch Valley of New Mexico. We partner with only the finest growers and work with them to select the best produce for our products. The authentic flavor and hand-picked ingredients used in El Pinto Salsa makes the product versatile for both snacking and cooking. El Pinto’s Salsa and Green Chile Sauce can be used to spice up everyday dishes such as Green Chile Meatloaf and Green Chile Chicken Stew. El Pinto products are now available nationwide in stores including Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Albertson’s.
El Pinto Foods
Our own salsa, at first, was created and filled in our small kitchen. We now have our product in some of the largest retail stores like Walmart & Krogers. Through the years of experience we’ve figure out how to maintain product integrity and consistency. We’ve been through both the ups & down of the food co-packing process. Our experience, a 45,000 sq. foot facility with automation, and a team of knowledgable staff is what we offer all our co-packing clients. We look forward in helping you navigate through the co-packing process and helping your product get the attention, quality, and consistency it deserves.
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Our manufacturing process starts with our R&D team, which will evaluate your existing recipe for production on our processing and packaging equipment.