Made in Detroit, Michigan

A couple of weeks ago while reading my local Warren Weekly newspaper, I saw where the author of the book, Better Made in Michigan, The Salty Story of Detroit's Best Chip, was going to be speaking at Warren's main library.  There was no charge, but attendees had to register to attend.

Given my love for Detroit history, I purchased Karen Dybis' book in 2017 [published in 2015], and found it very informative and interesting, so I knew I wanted to attend her presentation and registered my hubby and me.  

The Detroit factory [which is actually the fourth in the company's history [excluding basements and garages] is located on Gratiot.  Since I didn't remember ever seeing it, my hubby and I drove past it yesterday after we finished our dental appointments.  It's experienced more than a dozen expansions since moving there in 1955.

I LOVE potato chips but I rarely buy them because I would eat them all [my hubby's not a salty snack person, he prefers sweet treats] and they're high in calories and sodium, and contribute to high cholesterol, but I think I'm in the minority.  Detroit newspapers during the late 1970's reported that Detroiters have a national reputation for potato chips, consuming seven pounds per year per capita compared to the national average of four pounds, and Better Made is declared the best of all potato chips.  The company doesn't just have fans, they have fanatics, making them a Detroit icon.

The presentation was last night at 6:30 p.m. in the first floor library conference room.

Below, author Karen Dybis in her cute Better Made shirt.  She was a great presenter.  In her book she mentioned another potato chip book, Crunch! A History of the Great American Potato Chip by Dirk Burhans. 

~ Karen and Me ~

When Cross Moceri and Peter Cipriano [immigrants from Sicily] started their Detroit potato chip business in the 1920's there were more than 22 other potato chip companies [referred to as "chippers"] in the city, which earned Detroit the nickname of the potato chip capital of the world.  And today, they are the only potato chip company in Detroit that has survived.

We only drove by the Better Made factory yesterday, but today after one of our errands we decided to go inside the retail outlet.  They used to give factory tours but because of safety those are no longer done.  You can, however, watch the potato sticks on the assembly line through the windows on Gratiot.  [Sorry the building across the street reflected in the glass in the upper right corner of the photo.] 

There's a large Better Made Potato Chip bag inside the store where you can have your picture taken.

These were our three purchases.  Karen told us the salty snacks sold at the outlet are the freshest you can buy made either the same day or one day old [fresher than what's in the grocery stores].  

Did you know there is a National Potato Chip Day?  It's this week, Friday, March 14th.  I'll open one of my newly purchased bags of potato chips to celebrate the special day.  There are also potato chip cookbooks.  Who knew???  I've eaten potato chip cookies and have sprinkled crushed potato chips over the top of casseroles, but that's the extent of my cooking with potato chips.

For blog readers outside of Michigan, I apologize that you're unable to purchase Better Made potato chips and their other snack food products because they're only sold in Michigan - a decision the owners made many years ago.  

I also apologize for this being a non-tea post, but in the summertime, potato chips are great with a tall glass of iced tea!