Grippo's is a snack food company headquartered in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio. Established in 1919, the company grew regionally, adding varieties of snack foods to its production. The company was founded by Angelo Grippo and originated from a one-room office on Court Street in downtown Cincinnati. Today, the business is headquartered at Colerain Avenue in Cincinnati.

History

In 1919, Angelo Grippo began manufacturing rolled sugar cones. He later added traditional hand-twisted

pretzels A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twisted ba ...

which sold for 1¢ at retailers throughout

Greater Cincinnati The Cincinnati metropolitan area (also known as the Cincinnati Tri-State area or Greater Cincinnati) is a metropolitan area with its core in Ohio and Kentucky. Its largest city is Cincinnati and includes surrounding counties in the U.S. states ...

in 1923. In 1930, Grippo invented the "loop pretzel", which resembles a tear drop shape. The effort was developed from the idea of creating a simplified pretzel shape which would be more resistant to breakage. Grippo also constructed and established the operation of the pretzel looping machines. In addition to the loop pretzel, Grippo's offers rod, braided, and twist pretzels. By 1959, Grippo added

potato chips Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...

to his snack food selection. Varieties currently produced include ''Bar-B-Q Potato Chips'', ''Salt and Vinegar Chips'', ''Cheddar Cheese and Jalapeno Chips'', ''Hot Dill Pickle Chips'', ''Smokin' Hot Kettle Chips'', and ''Sweet Bermuda Onion Chips''. Grippo's Bar-B-Q chips specifically are known for their often powdery and spicy barbecue coating. Popularity of the Bar-B-Q selection have inspired additional choices, such as ''X Hot BBQ Chips'', ''XX Hot BBQ Chips'', individual sale of Grippo's BBQ as a gourmet spice, and ''Grippo's Original BBQ Sauce''. Although the origins to Grippo's have no known connection to the city of

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, the Bar-B-Q Potato Chip product is incredibly popular there, and has become a significant part of the local culture. Grippo's has also expanded to other cities in the tristate area of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, with nostalgia and a "cult-like following" being cited for its popularity. In March 2013, Grippo's recalled a brand of potato chips when metal shavings were found on the salt applicators.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.grippos.com Manufacturing companies based in Cincinnati Brand name potato chips and crisps Food and drink companies established in 1919 1919 establishments in Ohio Cuisine of Cincinnati American companies established in 1919