On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is your tolerance for spicy foods?
Hot sauce fanatic and Shadyside local, Arthur “Artie” Pitt shares his passion for hot sauces. His company, Artie’s Hot Sauce, carries artisan hot sauces with unique flavors ranging from smoky, tangy, sweet, fiery and roasted. As Artie says, “Life is too short for bland food: spice it up!” Check out our interview with Artie below.
So, why hot sauces?
I am beyond passionate about hot sauces! When I was about 9 years old, my dad took to me to a Thai restaurant in San Diego. We ordered Yum Nua, a classic and spicy Thai Beef Salad, and I was immediately hooked to the spicy flavors. That led to me putting crushed red pepper all over my pizza at Aiello’s where my friends and I would go. Then I tried Tabasco sauce on fried shrimp and popcorn and the experience of spicy food made everything more exciting. By the time I was 15, I could eat a Ghost Pepper. It led to a lifetime passion of loving hot sauces. I also quickly learned there were thousands of sauces to choose from and I never stopped trying new ones!
How did you start your own hot sauce company?
I have been an entrepreneur for over 20 years now. My first venture was launching an independent music label and management company that originated in Pittsburgh. Our first client here was Wiz Khalifa and shortly after Mac Miller. It was a crazy journey but we were all a great team who stuck together and made it to the top. In participating in that, I became very confident that I could move onto other things.
After exiting the music business, I got into the cannabis business when it was a gold rush to get in. Since all of our businesses are in California and I have two little girls at home, the thought of leaving them all the time to travel for work was not something I wanted to do. So I started making hot sauces in my kitchen at home as a brain exercise, which led to people wanting to buy them. It then launched as an official business.
As an entrepreneur, I have followed my passions. Music, cannabis, and now hot sauce and food. I know how to build a company and I am not afraid of starting something from scratch. If anything, I am simply thankful to have this opportunity and having so much support in this beautiful city and beyond.
Where can we find Artie’s Hot Sauce in Pittsburgh?
When I first started the business, I was focused on getting my sauces into local grocery chains such as Giant Eagle. I quickly learned wholesale prices would not yet work for a small start-up like mine. Then last spring, I started getting invited to a ton of farmer’s markets and pop-up events. I participated in over 45 of them in 2024. The reason I explain this first is that the direct-to-consumer approach for a small brand like mine almost eliminates the need to be in big stores for now. While I would like to eventually be available everywhere, my products are so fresh they require to be sold in chilled spaces.
Currently, you can find them all over the walls at Viva Los Tacos (where The O used to be), Frankie’s Sausage, Frick Park Market, Yoli’s, Buenatarde, Badamo’s Pizza, Dagny’s Eatery, Point Brugge, and more. Our focus is continuing to do these live events where people are willing to pay the price we deserve for high-end, hand-crafted artisan sauces. I love connecting with everyone I meet as people share my passion for hot sauce all over.
You can also order them off of our website, or if you live in the greater Pittsburgh region you can contact us directly and we will hand deliver them to your front door!
There are so many unique flavors! Which one is your favorite?
I personally love Fiery Jerk and Lemon Fire. They’re not easy to make a Jamaican Jerk sauce. I found a farm partner here who provided me with Scotch Bonnet peppers during the warmer months. The Fiery Jerk flavor has quickly become one of our top sellers. Lemon Fire is just incredible to me. It’s great for grilling and marinating, plus it’s versatile for any type of cuisine.
How do you decide how to make a flavor? Tell us about your creative process.
Arbol Insanity was the first hot sauce that I made. If you look at the ingredients, you can see my passion is there and the blend of flavors are out of this world. It took me almost nine months to introduce 10 different flavors (now we have 12 and spicy pickles!). I often create flavors and give out samples to people who I trust the most, and if the feedback is great, I will run with it. My friend Corey Burns, who owns Funky Biscuit, and my friend Jess Wagner, who is a manager at Harvie, taught me a lot during my time at Fulton Commons on the Northside. My creative process is pretty cut and dry. All fresh ingredients are brought in and turned into the most flavorful, fresh, and best hot sauces around!
What are some of the unique food pairings that go with your sauces?
One of the things people love most about my sauces is that they not only go well on breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but they pair well with any type of cuisine. My top seller, Pizza Shop, is a banana pepper sauce that started off mainly being used on pizza, hoagies, salads and more Italian foods. It has taken on a life of its own and become a condiment. People use it on steak, fries and even popcorn. Some more unique food pairings include Lemon Fire on a linguine with white clam sauce; Hot and Sour Serrano on Pad Thai; Arbol Insanity on avocado toast; Honey Sting on pancakes and waffles; and Garlic Crisp on eggs.
I have a never-ending amount of suggestions so if people want more just hit us up on Instagram!
What does the future of the company look like?
My goal is to expand into a national and international brand. As of now, I prefer to build things slowly and have a loyal core of consumers who know me like a friend. When you have a very strong core in a small business that is usually an indicator that the products will be liked for a very long time. This year, we will continue to do many farmers markets and pop-up events, along with working on getting them into more stores around the city and beyond. My family of consumers and I will build the future of this together because we are nothing without them.
Be sure to connect with Artie’s Hot Sauces on Instagram and Facebook!
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.
