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Business & Tech

Salsa Las Glorias: Even the Food 'Accessories' Are Fresh

Necessity and a mother led to invention of tasty salsa

Lilly Castano’s success is proof that you should listen to your mother.

“I became unemployed, and my kids went to private school, and my mom said let’s start selling salsa,” Castano said. “I was not 100 percent sure.”

So her mother, a native of Mexico who did not speak English, started going to the market near their home in The Plains to talk her way in. Castano said her husband convinced her that she should go along.

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But why salsa? They made it at home, and while she was growing up in Mexico, but in the United States “wherever you go eat you don’t find good salsa. Everything is canned. It’s not fresh,” Castano said.

That was six years ago. What some people use as sort of an accessory for chips or tacos she turned into Salsa Las Glorias which is, appropriately, named after her mother. “I used to clean houses,” said Castano. When asked if working several farmers markets a week is better she said, “Oh Lord, yes!”

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“I love the farmers markets,” Castano said. “It’s fun. It’s hot. You get to know all the people, and most of the people are really, really nice customers.”

Salsa Las Glorias has been a Kingstowne Farmers Market staple for four years. Castano enjoys the fact that in Kingstowne “you don’t have a second to sit down,” but there are still plenty of opportunities to interact with customers. For example, she explains that prices are a little higher because the cost of the salsa’s plastic containers has gone up.

Despite the challenges of keeping costs down, Castano loves being her own boss. “I don’t have anybody to tell me what to do, and I can make my hours,” she said. And she added something almost everyone in Northern Virginia can relate to: “I only deal with traffic six months” out of the year. Castano said she’s been encouraged to open her own restaurant. That would mean finding suppliers of fresh ingredients year round, and giving up her flexible schedule. “That’s a little bit too much,” she said.

Castano likes the way things are right now, especially since most of the work is done with her husband, son, daughter and a friend.

And she still loves the salsa. Her favorite is the very hot Habanero. Castano said she always makes every salsa “fresh for the farmers market. You can tell it’s fresh by the cilantro. You can see it. It’s fresh!”

As for her mother, she is back in Mexico. Castano laughed as she remembered her mother saying “she’s coming to get her funds.” And from Salsa Las Glorias fans, she’ll get a big "Thank You."

*****

Salsa Las Glorias

The Plains, VA, 540-222-1952, http://salsalasglorias.com/

Kingstowne Farmers Market Hours: Fridays, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

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