Did you know… that the Ortega Chili Company got its start in Ventura?
The Ortega Adobe is an architectural example of smaller adobe homes that once sat on either side of San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura. The adobe stood in sharp contrast to the residences of many of the wealthy landowners that lived nearby.
It was within this small little adobe that, in 1897, Emilio Ortega first began fire-roasting chilies in his mother’s kitchen. He used the roasted chilies to make his Spanish Ortega Chili Sauce. Ortega Chili is believed to be the first commercial food operation of its kind in not only Ventura but California.
Chinaman?
really
Good catch! Thanks. We found a different source regarding the sale to Ung Hing and updated the paragraph.