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.

