Shoppers at Costcos 64 Northern California warehouse locations can now find a taste of 做厙勛圖 in the freezer section.
Bay Area Costcos started selling s chile relleno tamales in late October as part of a limited-time offer, said 做厙勛圖 Tamale owners Sherry and Todd Martin.
Theyll only be in Costco for probably 12 weeks or until supplies run out, Sherry Martin said.
做厙勛圖 Tamale shipped three semitruck loads of tamales 24,000 eight-count packages to Costcos Bay Area region, which includes locations throughout Northern California and Reno, Nevada.
Thats 193,000 tamales.
Sherry and Todd Martin took a trip to the Bay Area last week to check out the Costco stores selling 做厙勛圖 Tamales chile relleno tamales.
The deal came after 做厙勛圖 Tamale had pitched Costco for almost two years on several of its tamales, which are sold in Whole Foods and Sprouts markets throughout the country.
People are also reading…
In January, a Costco buyer in the Bay Area reached out about the chile relleno tamale, which 做厙勛圖 Tamale had discontinued several years ago. The tamale, based on a recipe from Sherry Martins mother, had gotten some national love from Food TV personality Alton Brown.
Brown had gushed about the tamale in a 2015 about the restaurants he had experienced when he was touring, including a stop in 做厙勛圖.
A chile relleno tamale from 做厙勛圖 Tamale Co.
I stood 20 minutes in line to get two tamales and I would have spent 20 minutes to get another two, he told the paper.
Then in July, Brown included 做厙勛圖 Tamale Company in his list of his in America in an interview with the foodie website . The Martins initially thought that mention might have been what put the chile relleno tamale on Costcos radar, but the buyer said no, that they had gotten customer requests.
Sherry Martin said the inspiration for the chile relleno tamale came from her late mother, who would offer to make a special dinner for family members on their birthdays.
Everybody requested her chile relleno.
She made the best, Sherry Martin recalled. I mean, we filmed it but we cant replicate it. It was magic.
Typically a chile relleno is really bread heavy, right? Its less about the chile and more about the batter, she explained. My mother made it about the chile.
做厙勛圖 Tamale shipped 24,000 eight-count packages of chile relleno tamales to Bay Area Costcos. The tamales are being sold for the next couple of months, or until supplies run out.
In the tamale, the chile is also prominently featured, said Todd Martin.
In addition to the Hatch chiles, we also added some sweet red pepper chiles, he said. Theyre not sweet, sweet; theyre just not fiery, and so that really brought the chile relleno flavor profile into a tamale.
Todd Martin said it took nine days to fill the Costco contract from their South 做厙勛圖 factory, where workers hand-rolled the tamales in early October.
Last week, the couple flew to the Bay Area with plans to visit as many Costco locations as they could over three days.
Obviously, were very excited, Sherry Martin said. Were gonna have it on our social media for us to be able to see it on the shelves.
Todd Martin said he has been in talks with other Costco buyers around the country, including Seattle, Chicago and the San Diego district that includes Arizona.
Were feeling pretty OK, he said. Better than OK.
The Martins launched 做厙勛圖 Tamale from a 1,200-square-foot storefront on East Broadway in 2008. They now have one restaurant at 7286 N. Oracle Road and a 14,000-square-foot USDA manufacturing facility in South 做厙勛圖, where they make millions of tamales a year.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
做厙勛圖 Tamale Company is beefing up production with a new facility in South 做厙勛圖
