It was a rough go for brick and mortar hot sauce shops around the world in 2020. But when I enter a hot sauce shop, my pupils dilate and move into a trance looking to expand my collection of craft hot sauces.
These are 32 special hot sauce stores around the world that have been a hot sauce shrine to their locals and travelers.
Hop Burns & Black
Peckham and Deptford,
South London, England
Hop Burns & Black was founded by Jen Ferguson and Glenn Williams in Peckham, South London, in 2014, specializing in craft beer (the Hop), hot sauce (the Burns) and a small selection of vinyl records (the Black). They like to call them the world's three greatest obsessions - it's amazing how many people are also similarly obsessed! Hot sauce has always been a huge part of their lives and the UK hot sauce scene is really starting to come into its own, with a lot of independent producers coming onto the market.
This hot sauce shop in South London, England, showcases a lot of local London producers, such as South London's own Peckham Sauce Co, Slow Richie's and Disco Hot Sauce, as well as innovative British producers such as Tubby Tom's, Brighton Hot Sauce and Burning Desire. They also seek out exciting international makers, such as Queen Majesty from NYC, Secret Aardvark from Portland, Yellowbird from Texas and the likes of Crazy Bastard (Berlin), Raijmakers Heetmakers (The Netherlands) and Fire Dragon Chillies from our native New Zealand. They're always on the hunt for new sauces and love to champion small producers.
They now have two South London shops - one in Peckham and one in Deptford.
Double DD Meats
West Plaza - 5602 232nd St SW #104,
Mountlake Terrace, Washington 98043
Double DD Meats was founded in 1955. They didn’t get into hot sauce until years later when their parents went to the fiery food show in Albuquerque. Loving the fun names and labels they had to have them in their store. Once they bought one they felt they had to buy them all. In 2013 they had to expand the store by 1800 sq ft because the selection of hot sauce, barbecue sauce, dry rubs and marinades got so large that they couldn’t fit them all. They currently have over 3000 varieties available at this time of just hot sauce! Washington’s special hot sauce store.
Lupe Pintos
313 Great Western Road,
Glasgow, G4 9HR, Scotland
24 Leven Street,
Edinburgh, EH3 9LJ, Scotland
The Edinburgh shop opened in 1991. After closing the Legendary Pachuko Cantina one of Scotland’s pioneering Mexican Joints the founders embarked on a yearlong trip across America and down through Mexico collecting information and inspiration.
Lupe Pintos Deli opened to supply Scotland with hard to find Mexican and American ingredients and through the years has evolved to include hard to find spices and hot sauces from around the world.
The owner of Lupe Pintos used to live in colorful New Orleans, and got a taste of the extensive hot sauce culture living close to the El Yucateco factory in Merida, Mexico. Also, claiming to shake that sauce on their breakfast eggs daily. At Lupe Pintos you will find hundreds of sauces from all around the world. Some of the owner’s favorite sauces are:
“Valentina - the oldest commercially produced sauce in Mexico, copied by many but the original still rocks.
Windmill from Barbados - it has mustard in it and is great on rice, peas, or a humble ham and cheese sandwich.
Kankun Habanero - made by my friend and co author of THE MEXICAN WRESTLERS COOKBOOK, so I have to mention it, also one of the best habanero flavors on the market.”
Chilly Chiles
Bayshore Shopping Centre,
Nepean, Ontario
Tanger Outlets Mall,
Kanata, Ontario
If you’ve been to any of the big hot sauce expos you’ve probably seen Chilly Chiles. They are a craft hot sauce distributor founded in 1993 and they also have two shops in Ottawa Chilly (Bayshore Shopping Center & Tanger Outlets).
They focus on small batch, handcrafted sauces from all over the world, including a lot of Canadian products. Proud to be Canada's largest hot sauce retailer, serving awesome customers, and offering a fantastic tasting experience.
Red Hot Tiki
2904 Beach Blvd S
Gulfport, Florida 33707
Open in 2011, Red Hot Tiki is a 300 sq ft spicy gourmet market with ~1500 products including hot sauces, BBQ sauces, jams, snacks, rubs, olive oil, and so much more. Located in the beautiful quaint waterfront district of Gulfport, FL (S St Pete), they have over 400+ samples available to customers every day. AND they are a women veteran owned business!
They carry hot sauces by Mad Dog, Blair’s, Dave’s, Queen Majesty, Bushwick, Detroit Hellfire,Jak Jeckel, Salvation Sauce, Gator Hammock, Ring of Fire, and more!
Sweet N Saucy
535 W Douglas Suite 110
Wichita, Kansas 67203
Founded in June of 2019, this sweet shop has 250+ bottles of hot sauce, 250+ bottles of soda, loads of candy, and 500+ pairs of socks. This shop puts a fun twist on a hot sauce store. The owner of Sweet N Saucy is also the co-owner of an 80s/90s retro video arcade (www.thearcadewichita.com) and is always looking for new business ventures!
He traveled to Georgetown, Texas and visited Mikey V’s store, loving the staff and culture. From there, he was off to Vegas for a little vacation, when he came across a very nice candy store. He couldn’t decide which business to start, so he decided to do both! And so, Sweet N Saucy was born.
Rain Tree
826 E New Haven Ave
Melbourne, Florida
Melanie and Chris retired from careers in Public Safety and Healthcare to pursue a dream they had always shared, owning a shop in historic downtown Melbourne, FL. They purchased an established shop and filled it with eclectic gifts and souvenir finds for everyone. It is their mission to support Military, Veterans, and Public Safety professionals. They have coined themselves #mosteclecticshop.
Find hot sauces, rubs, lotions, topicals, and eclectic gifts in their shop in Melbourne, Florida.
Chilisaus.be
Brecht, Belgium
Chillisaus is a bit different from most of the stores on this list. You can find Kerri and Barry, from the U.K., in their gazebo or at local markets across Belgium, Holland and Germany. They are the only hot sauce seller in Belgium that sells sauces from the United Kingdom. The hot sauce scene was almost non-existent in Belgium until they came along about three years ago. Find sauces from all around, and even their very own! But it’s not just sauces they sell, you can get your very own spicy peppers!
Julio’s Liquors
140 Turnpike Rd,
Westborough, Massachusetts 01581
Julio’s Burn Center, at Julio’s Liquors, carries over 350 types of hot sauces, rubs, marinades and spicy condiments. When I dropped off Craic Sauce to add to Julio’s Collection, I ended up buying 4 hot sauces I’ve never tried before, craft bloody mary mix, two cigars and a unique sour craft beer from Western Mass. You’ve been warned that it’s like being a kid in a candy store if you like craft food and drink!
Julio's is a local staple in Massachusetts and they also host spicy tasting events when there isn’t a pandemic.
Heatonist
121 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, New York 11249
Heatonist, founded in 2015, is owned by two young hot sauce lovers. It’s difficult to compete with large hot sauce brands and vendors like Amazon, but this shop differentiates itself by selling all natural small-batch hot sauces! It’s modern on the inside, and if you check out their Instagram, you’ll see their sassy sign out front. Mixing passion and humor with hot sauce is always a great recipe.
The owners have tasted over 2,000 hot sauces, everyone that comes into the shop, so you can count on finding sauces with just the right amount of heat and flavor!
Sgt. Peppers Hot Sauces
442 Center St
Lewiston, New York
This family-owned business offers gourmet goods and, of course, hot sauce! The founder of this hot sauce store grew up loving hot sauce and even put it on pancakes! One customer says that it’s the place to go if you’re in the village, whether you are looking for hot hot sauces or novel gifts. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can request it and they will scope it out, test it and add it to stock for you!
Flavor and Fire
59 Spruce Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Columbus is known for good-eats and hot sauce is heating up in the city as well! Flavor and Fire is a brick and mortar shop located in North Market. Mike and his wife Deb started their path down fiery foods and hot sauce by starting their own line ofhot sauces in 2015. 5 years later they have expanded to over 80 products and co-pack for other hot sauce companies. If that didn’t keep them busy enough they operate this retail location and have a wide range of craft hot sauces from the area and way beyond.
Mikey V’s
711 S Main St,
Georgetown, Texas
Mikey V’s has got your sauces, salsas and swag down in Texas. They have a wide selection of well-known hot sauces from Hot Ones and lesser-known smaller hot sauces. They are an award-winning, veteran-owned family business. Mirroring all the shops on this list, they only use the freshest ingredients with no artificial preservatives in their own line of hot sauces. You’ll get to know Mikey’s glowing energy and attitude hearing about their story on the Craft Hot Sauce Podcast. Mikey V’s made a generous donation to the food pantry down in Georgetown during Covid-19 and they are very involved in their community.
Hot Licks Sauces
Beach And Embarcadero
Ste J-16, Pier 39
San Francisco, CA 94133
Hot Licks has been a hot sauce haven for chiliheads since 1994 when their first location opened and it was actually where Mikey V (above) would spend his extra money when he was living in San Diego.
Hot Licks manufactures their own sauces and carry specialty sauces from all around. Luckily, Spring Valley isn’t their only location; you can also find them in San Diego and San Francisco! They know spice is not for the faint-hearted so they advertise #PickYourPain, for all levels of chileheads.
Chilli Shop
70 Merrion Street Merrion Centre,
Leeds LS2 8LW, United Kingdom
This shop was one of the first chili shops in its area of England. Dating back to 2004 when founder, Frank, co-founded the first chili festival in Brighton, falling in love with all things spicy and unique. He decided to turn this passion into a shop to keep indie producers in business. Their best seller is the world’s hottest gummy bears, which he swears are truly addictive. This store has a large collection of Hot Ones featured sauces, perfect for Hot Ones Sauce Shop fanatics.
iBurn
4227 Bellaire Blvd,
Houston, Texas 77025
Check out iBurn for their sauces, sweets, mixers, and spices in Houston! They have a tasting station, perfect for those looking to try before purchase. Reviewers swear the employees know their stuff, and can help you find just what you are looking for. Their mission is to, “Offer the best tasting, highest quality, spicy products anywhere!”
Burn Your Tongue
3651 S. Wall Ave STE 1129
Inside The Quilted Bear
Ogden, Utah 84405
This is not your average specialty grocery store, you will find 650+ hot sauces from all over inside! Testimonials say it's the go-to place in Utah, fans traveling far and wide to check out the shop. Their selection varies in heat, flavor, and famous Hot Ones sauces. Find your favorite Hot Ones Sauce Store sauces here! You can often find sales and coupons to build your “own sauce empire.” Also, never fret, you can taste the sauce before you buy!
Find local Utah sauces, or craft sauces from all corners of the U.S. They are located in The Quilted Bear at the Newgate Mall in Odgen. Check out their Instagram @burnyourtongue. We recommend checking out their hot sauce reviews and posts to catch up on sauce, they are great about staying active on social media.
Kalustyans
123 Lexington Ave,
New York, New York 10016
Spice, beans, breads, sweets, seafood, and of course, sauces. This place has it all, located in Manhattan, catering to all with their Indian and Mideastern products. In 1944, K. Kalustyan opened the specialty food store at its present location, carrying Indian spices and groceries. After his demise, the ownership and management had passed on to MARHABA INTERNATIONAL INC. The new owners have expanded the inventory to include food and ingredients for cooking from 40+ countries. Kalustyan’s continues to try to satisfy the palatal needs of the community by continuing to add new products to its already extensive product line.
You can find Silly Chilly Hot Sauces (pictured to the right) at Kalustyans.
Speedy's Sauce Shop
1612 Virginia Beach Blvd - Suite 102
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23454
Speedy’s history is too good to paraphrase: “In the late 80’s and through the late 90’s I hung out in a place called Mr. T’s Tacos. It was a fixture on 44th street across from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Carl Boyd, a professor at ODU, made his Death Sauce in trade for his beer tab. He never gave up any secrets, but talking about it with him gave me enough interest to try making some sauce of my own.
Mr. T’s got gobbled up by progress and I couldn’t ever find a sauce, or taco joint, to fill the void. Always searching for the right combination of heat and flavor, I decided to keep at the hot sauce creations. For years I would grab some tasty adult beverages and make sauce to give away to friends. Some batches were good and some not so much. I usually got too sauced to remember what I put in it, but I started getting a following regardless.
I began writing things down and drinking a little less until the magical sauce was brewed. Things have been pretty consistent for a while now and Speedy’s Hot Sauce has been growing in popularity ever since.”
Hot Spot Hot Sauce
So. Low Foods
2862 West 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC V6K 1R2
Their story really starts in a tragic time in life. One of the owners suffered from heart failure. Doctors dismissed the option of eating grocery store condiments, sauces and all high sodium foods. Instead, they were instructed to flavor food with spices. Literally heartbroken from that reality, they ventured into hot sauces. Amazingly they found craft hot sauces were predominantly low sodium and their tolerance to spice was quite high. With the personal need to dig deep for flavor the Hot Spot was born. Figuring, they might as well share their discoveries with the community around them. That lead to the concept of serving up samples of any sauce in our inventory to anyone who desired it, it was something they always wished they could do when they were shopping for sauces. Now, they've kept true to their mission and have the most amazing customers. AND, the owner's heart has recovered back to normal and food can be exciting again!
The Hot Spot
Mohammed Saleh Nassif Rd,
Al-Safa district, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
From Tabasco and Sriracha sauce to rare brands low & high on the Scoville Heat Scale, The Hot Spot has options to suit all robust tastebuds.
They even have sauces from a company called Pain, which puts as much effort into creating discomfort as it does taste. You can also find salsas, spices and hot snacks. Shoutout to all the fans from the Hot Ones youtube show, you can find some spicy sauces here!
Spice it Up
830 N Bay Ave
Beach Haven, New Jersey 08008
They opened their doors in March 2013 wanting to provide the community & visitors with unique ingredients to make every meal special. Searching out small food companies that use good, all-natural ingredients that enhance your meal and make you feel good about what you are eating!
Spice It Up offers dried herbs and spices, spice blends, oils, vinegars, baking ingredients, gluten-free items, salts, peppers, and many different types of condiments and BBQ fixings. They also love suggestions, so share your favorite products & recipes with them!
The Sauce Shack
Stuart, Florida
This hot sauce shop had an individual location selling hot sauces, spices and jerky, but now has teamed with Pepperman’s Master Blends in Stuart, FL. They continue to use fine ingredients, locally sourced, and put in the time and effort to make great sauces. You can also find their sauces in Jensen Beach at Ain’t Miss Bee, 2009 NE Jensen Beach Blvd.
Reviewers say that the owner makes killer sauces, and that they have the perfect options for kitchen sauces or gifts for your hot-head friends! On their website you will find they have a short helpful way to pick hot sauces, basing it on heat, quality of ingredients and Chile flavor. As you can see, they have a wide selection...
Market of Choice
1475 Siskiyou Blvd.
Locations throughout Oregon
As an independent, family-owned Oregon grocer, Market of Choice has the flexibility, desire and ability to support local food producers. Not only do they carry local hot sauces, they also help many of these businesses get off the ground. They provide them professional advice, help them make connections, and assist them with distribution, in the hopes that their business will grow. It's a full-circle philosophy that translates into a healthier economy and food community. They feel lucky to have so many hot sauce aficionados and connoisseurs in Oregon.
Some of their many favorite hot sauces include HAB Sauces, Thrive Sauce Co., Bobbie’s Boat Sauce, Hoss Soss, Hot Winter, Dank Sauce, and Marshall’s Haute Sauce. Each one is unique!
Orv’s Farm Market
182 North Virginia St,
St. Williams, California 95987
Now open! Offering locally grown fruits, veggies, sauces, pressed juices, sandwiches, cheese & charcuterie, gourmet foods and gifts! All even with an espresso bar. This shop opened in 2018 and has been active in its community during Covid-19, offering essential groceries and even giving discounts.
Fill up your tank, use the restroom, and enjoy the wide selection of sandwiches, meats, sauces, and juices. Many reviewers say that this is a go-to lunch spot, and recommend the deli and pressed juices! Visit this family-owned, California-grown store.
Check out their page @orvs.co
Discover Thermopolis
541 Broadway Street
Thermopolis, WY 82443
In 2019 Discover Thermopolis was working on having the largest hot sauce selection in Wyoming with over 700 different sauces. 12 months later they are close to carrying 1,700 different varieties of hot sauce!
While stocking up on hot sauce in Thermopolis you can also soak in the world’s largest mineral hot spring!
Find them on Facebook @DiscoverThermopolis!
Jungle Jim’s International Market
5440 Dixie Hwy
Fairfield, Ohio
With over 200,000 square feet of market, you are bound to find a cartload of things you like. Hard to believe Jungle Jim’s International Market started as a food stand on the side of the road! Jungle Jim’s is a HUGE food market / hot sauce shop in Ohio, offering aisles upon aisles of global foods, spices, and you guessed it, hot sauce. They also offer cooking classes, tastings, and festivals of food! We recommend the Weekend of Fire, where they host the hottest of the hot sauces and salsas! The main location has been described as a theme park of food.
Inferno Hot Sauce Shop
1213 Highway 80 - Unit H
Tybee Island, Georgia 31328
The cutest hot sauce shack you’ll find! Inferno has hot sauces, salsas, spices and rubs, BBQ Sauces, and jerky! They hand pick the items from award winning brands, and you can sample anything in the store. Founded in 2016, this shop is a hot place to stop on Tybee Island.
PFEFFERHAUS
Niederbarnimstraße 11,
10247 Berlin, Germany
Pfefferhaus of Berlin sells sauces and spices from Mexico, the Caribbean, the U.S. and more! They offer special culinary gifts and lots of gourmet sauces. Find craft sauces and even big names from the U.S. like Blair’s, Mad Dog, CaJohns. They also offer in house products, sharing that their best seller is “Stinger,” from the Suicide Sauce section. One reviewer says, “The inside is spacious and well-organized, with different kinds of hot sauces and chili extracts lining the walls. Sauces are divided by varieties and countries, with stickers marking the approximate amount of heat.”
AleFire
3520 N Williams Ave,
Portland, Oregon 97227
Last but not least is AleFire, a fine hot sauce shop and watering hole in PDX. In August of 2019 I was able to experience their opening weekend which was the same weekend as the PDX Hot Sauce Expo. It's a cozy pub feel with indoor and sidewalk seating and the walls are lined with refrigerators filled with craft hot sauce.
They take advantage of the unbelievably talented Portland hot sauce scene by having a very wide selection of hot sauces. If you stop by in PDX you gotta check out AleFire. They have some cool specials on their social.
We hope you can visit some of these shops sometime soon. If you can't make it in person, you can check out our online craft hot sauce shop!
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