36 | JANUARY 7 • 2021

NOSH

EATS | DRINKS | SWEETS

T

hey wanted a name that was simple
and to the point.
Coming up with a name that rep-
resented their brand was the trickiest part of
launching a new business, says The Salami
Chip Co. co-founder Josi Ryke, 55.
The Oak Park-based food company pro-
duces exactly that — salami chips — and
their goal was for people to know exactly
what they were all about without having to
do extra research.
A salami chip is best described as a crispy
potato chip that tastes like salami, Ryke
explains. They’re salty, savory and pair well
with jams and charcuterie boards. It was an
idea that had been in the works for years,
she says, and when it was finally brought to
life, simply calling the brand “The Salami
Chip Co.
” was the perfect way to sum it up.
Soft-launched in November, The Salami
Chip Co. is currently pending USDA certi-
fication to be sold in grocery stores. They’re
almost there, Ryke says, but for now, the
company run by Ryke, Brad Dockery and
husband-and-wife duo, Erik and Julie
Herman, sells bagged salami chips through
their e-commerce website.
Their advertising has been done through
social media, so word-of-mouth has been
key to spreading awareness. It wasn’t hard
to generate excitement, though, since the
Hermans have worked in catering for 26
years and are well-known throughout the
local culinary community. Ryke operated a
successful event business that also connect-
ed her to the Metro Detroit food industry
and with her now-business partners.
The Hermans were testing versions of
a salami chip for nearly a decade through
their catering business, Julie Herman, 54,
explains, gathering feedback and ideas for

how to perfect the product. It was inspired
by Spanish cookbooks where salami was
often featured, but in the early years of their
business, she said many people would steer
clear of meat and fat. It wasn’t until the past
decade that an interest in keto and low-carb
diets resulted in more requests for salami
chips at events, a demand Herman followed.
“We got a lot of encouragement and pos-
itive feedback,
” Herman says. Yet it wasn’t
until the COVID-19 pandemic hit back in
March that Herman and her business part-
ners had enough free time to focus on turn-

ing their idea into reality. “Nobody needs
to cater during a pandemic,
” she continues.
“If this was not a pandemic, we would be so
busy that we wouldn’t have had time.
”
It was a silver lining of the pandemic,
Herman and Ryke explain, that they were
able to take the year to develop The Salami
Chip Co. and combine their expertise. For
now, as they await USDA certification, they
shop for ingredients themselves and bag
the chips at their Oak Park kitchen inside
Temple Emanu-El.

It’s one of many ties the business partners
have to the local Jewish community, with
Ryke’s husband, Brian Fishman, serving
as the executive director at Temple Shir
Shalom and Julie Herman having attended
Hillel Day School.

NITRATE-FREE
They pride themselves on offering salami
chips that are nitrate-free with no added
preservatives. Of the people who have tried
the chips, Herman says, 98% were happy
with the product. While they currently only
offer an original line, the goal is to develop
different flavors and meats once they’re cer-
tified and able to distribute their product.
“There’s a spicy person. There’s a group
of people that would like salami chips with
turkey. There’s all different ways to make
them,
” Herman says.
They also want to create a vegetarian
salami chip in the future so that all flavor
profiles and dietary needs could be met.
Another idea they’re interested in pursuing
is creating a salad topper version.
Right now, “we just want to perform our
best and put our best effort” forward, Ryke
says. The thinly sliced salami, which is
cooked in heated oil and then packaged to
preserve taste and texture, retails for $8 per
bag on The Salami Chip Co. website. They
can also be purchased in packs of three
or as a bundle that comes with Michigan-
made spreads.
Yet the most important element of the
business, Ryke says, is that their mission
statement is loud and clear. “We had a
million different names in our head,
” she
explains of The Salami Chip Co. “No matter
what happens, we will always be known as
the original.
”

New Oak Park business offers
crispy and savory salami chips.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

New Kind
of Snack

Erik Herman, Julie
Herman, Josi Ryke
and Brad Dockery

PHOTOS COURTESY THE SALAMI CHIP CO.