Salsa Sensation

Milicent Obbards

In the midst of two jobs and a full course load, entrepreneur and student, Brian Doyle, is pursuing the “American dream” by expanding a small business on the side. Doyle, 37, has fused the liveliness of the Emerald Isle with the unique flavors of the Southwest to create, “O’Doyle’s Drunken Irish Salsa,” a well-balanced, restaurant-style salsa that’s considered fresh and full of flavor.

Doyle, a business major at MCC, has been making salsa for the Valley for over eight years, debuting his culinary creation with the people he knew.

“My friends, family and co-workers had positive feedback; they encouraged me to sell my salsa. I made salsa to what I thought salsa should taste like, and then it just so happened people agreed with me.” Doyle said.

Doyle credits his friend Lance Wilson with the salsa’s catchy name.

“I was at Lance’s annual Memorial Day Party and he just yells out ‘Brian Doyle’s Drunken Irish Salsa,'” Doyle said. “Later we shortened it to ‘O’Doyle’s Drunken Irish Salsa.”

As any small-business owner would admit, it was not always party time, in an economy that does not care about a person’s student status.

Doyle has noticed a slight decrease in sales, but considered himself fortunate.

“It’s not always easy, you learn to make sacrifices in other areas of your life to make it work. Things at both my other jobs (massage therapy) have been affected a noticeable amount, which makes it hard to have the money I would like to invest into the business,” Doyle said.

Fortunately, “O’Doyle’s Drunken Irish Salsa” developed a reputation amongst the farmer’s markets and thrives off loyal customers and salsa enthusiasts to keep things going.

“I love trying new salsa and this salsa tastes so fresh, you can’t have just a little bit, it’s so addicting,” said Kayla Hopp the first time she tried Doyle’s salsa.

Salsa lover Matt Schryver makes a special trip to get his fix.

“I bought ‘O’Doyle’s Drunken Irish Salsa,’ and tried it when I got home, and it was amazing. Now I make the drive from Phoenix to Guadalupe just for this salsa,” Schryver said.

Perhaps it is the “Luck of the Irish” that keeps things spicy for Doyle, but he attributed his success to taking business classes, which inspired and forced a commitment to the business.

“The main thing was to prioritize what was most important, then I balanced my time based upon those priorities.” Doyle said.

Doyle looks forward to when his salsa will create a steady source of income, but in the mean time, he enjoys establishing his product in local markets and hopes to expand into Southern California.

Those in Doyle’s close Celtic circle may benefit from free salsa, as for the rest of us, they can find “O’Doyle’s Drunken Irish Salsa” sold at the Guadalupe Farmers Market in Guadalupe, Ariz.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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