A Legendary Chicago Name Dips Into The World of Condiments

Eater

3 days ago

Walter Kinzie wants people to think bigger when it comes to selecting what they want to dip their foods into, to go beyond typical options like barbecue sauce. A direct descendant of John Kinzie, one of Chicago's first settlers; he's who the street's named after. Walter Zinzie founded Kinzie Foods in 2022, a sauce company with off-the-wall flavors including pickle, espresso, and Carolina Reaper
Walter Kinzie encourages consumers to expand their usage to upgrade their Bloody Marys, dips, schmears, stews, and more.
'This was just a byproduct of growing up very, very poor,' says Kinzie. 'We couldn't afford to go get all the different condiments out there. We used barbecue sauce on everything. It wasn't something that was saved for smoked meats or brisket or ribs.'
The flavors are tangy, rich, sweet, and spicy (the kind that provides a flavorful zing, not an uncomfortable burning sensation). Kinzie doesn't spend much time on research and development. With an informal cooking background, he makes small batches, tests the product, and if it's up to his liking, it goes to market.
Kinzie didn't set out to be a food entrepreneur. As founder of Encore Holdings, Kinzie was already running a successful event production company out of Grand Rapids, South Dakota, which he started in 2010. Headliners for his event included Garth Brooks, Metallica, and Bon Jovi. It was this first business that gave birth to his second.
'I started sharing bottles of my aunt's barbecue sauce as a thank you for people I worked with,' says Kinzie on his gifting practice at Encore. 'I wanted to provide something really special for my clients, for the celebrities I work with, and folks like that, where they knew I made it. I never wanted a business out of it. The business was created out of a demand, not a desire.'
Fiery, a spicy smoke sauce with more flavor than heat, was the first recipe his Aunt Ann created. It was home-cooked and jarred in plain Mason jars, which were gifted with no markings. The first label employed was hand-drawn by his daughter, printed, and glued on. As the flavor options grew, a simple green duct tape was used, and the name of the condiment was written out by hand. Over time, demand for Aunt Ann's sauces grew. So much so that Kinzie decided to start charging people for the bottles with the hope that it would minimize his workload. It had unintended consequences.
'I basically got to a point where I had to charge people because it was something that I couldn't afford to just keep giving away,' he remembers. 'I fully expected everyone to say, 'Hey, thanks for the gifts over the last several years, but we're not willing to pay for it,' and the exact opposite happened. More people started paying for it.'
The company website went live on October 3, 2024, as a direct-to-consumer brand. Kinzie selected various markets across the U.S. to test his product at food shows and community events. Seattle, Cleveland, Denver, and Chicago were among the cities selected. Kinzie chose them because they were places where he 'didn't already have strong connections.' It was a way to test whether there really was interest in what he was selling or if his network was simply paying him lip service. One city stood out above the rest.
'Chicago really embraced our product,' says Kinzie. 'This is based on metrics; this isn't anecdotal belief. The market embraced funkier flavors like espresso and pickle, more so than any of the other markets we're in. It's no surprise to me, [Chicago] is a market that appreciates barbecue and is very food-focused and always on the cutting edge.'
Armed with this information, nine months after the business launched, the entrepreneur decided to redirect all marketing and advertising dollars toward Chicago. Even with John Kinzie's Chicago ties, it's a city that Walter Kzine only recently started to get to know. However, it's a city that already knows him.
'I was staying at the Residence Inn on Kinzie Street during a sales trip last winter, and the lady that checked me in asked, 'Are you related to the murderer?'' says the founder. 'I was like 'I'm related to the guy that donated the land that the streets are named after' and she was like, yeah, and he murdered someone right outside where our hotel is right now.' I went upstairs, got settled, and the first thing I Googled was that.'
Walter is a descendant of John Kinzie, a Quebec native who lived from 1763 to 1828. Beyond being credited as one of the city's first non-indigenous settlers, he's also credited with the city's first murder in 1812. He would flee Chicago before returning in 1816, where he spent his remaining years.
Walter grew up in Edna, Kansas, and up until he began Kinzie Foods, he hadn't spent much time in Chicago. That's all changing, and it appears as if he's already beginning to see the twists and turns the city provides.
'[John] had this very strange affinity with Chicago, with the land, unsuccessfully running for mayor, murdering someone, and now one of the most prestigious streets in the community named after him,' says Kinzie. 'That's a story made for Chicago, if you ask me.'
And so is the tale of the man who returns to the city his ancestor helped build 200 years later, with a plan to make a name for himself. Kinzie's sauces can be purchased online, food festivals, and will be part of the Windy City Smokeout lineup. See More: