Her Secret
Hi! My name is April Schenk, the founder and creative force behind SASS Sauce. As an artist, writer, home chef, rule breaker and rebel, I wasn't really thinking about creating and bottling a hot sauce. I have often been called a renaissance woman because I am obsessed with making anything handmade, mostly out of recycled materials. From jewelry, clothing, furniture and beyond, repurposed art is my true passion. As a self proclaimed serial entrepreneur and mother of two boys, I used to moonlight as a bartender to pay the bills. It was there that I accidentally added another business to my arsenal.
It all began with tacos. I love to cook and I would make my almost world famous tacos every Monday night at 322 Tavern, a local hangout in Southern NJ. I came up with this "secret" sauce as "just a little extra something". Originally it was to be served on fish tacos, which I would only offer as a special from time to time.
After one taste, some of the regulars wanted it for the traditional beef tacos as well. At their request, I began making it every week and they started experimenting with trying it on more than just the tacos. Word quickly spread about the sauce around the bar and through Facebook posts. People were loving it so much, that even when I wasn't there, they were coming in asking for the sauce to put on their wings, burgers, fries and just about anything else they could dip in it. Before I knew it, everyone was begging me to make a bottle for them to keep at their house and offering "any amount of money", just so they can have their own bottle!
I started doing some research and quickly began the bottling process. After a year of development and customer anticipation, SASS Sauce finally became available for purchase in November of 2016! The SASS brand has quickly gaining a cult like popularity of followers and fans because of it's great taste and many culinary uses! SASS is a slightly spicy dipping sauce, sandwich spread, marinade, salad dressing and more! It is truly an EVERYTHING Sauce that can be used for breakfast, lunch and dinner! It is a flavor enhancer and adds the perfect blend of spices to any recipe. Since it's inception the SASS line of products has expanded with SASS RED and SASSy Spice with more products in development!
​As a mother, artist, business owner, bartender and now sauce maker, I wear many hats, although I tend to look at this as an extension of my bartending job. It is there that I get to connect with my customers, especially my regulars. I think I bring them a little happiness and so does the sauce! When they try it, it literally brings a smile to their face and that means so much to me! I believe in following your heart. Doing what sets your soul on fire. I try to bring some of that to anyone I meet. I want people to see that you never have to limit yourself. My hope is not only that people will like and buy the sauce, but through fun and clever marketing they will feel encouraged to not take things too seriously in life. I wanted to have fun with the name and my SASSy character as seen on the bottle. We fooled around with different names at the beginning of the process. One name we had in mind, was ASS Sauce, which was definitely fun but not necessarily marketable. To the dismay of my mother, we were discussing the name at Christmas Eve dinner. My uncle called me the next morning and said "April, I was up all night trying to think of a better name for the sauce. I thought to myself what is the one word I would use to describe April, it's SASS! That's what you got... is SASS!" I loved it and the rest is history! It was a really great Christmas gift to get a name that fit my personality and the persona of the sauce so perfectly! It also makes for a great story of how SASS started!
​So now, I am on a mission, I actually have many, but for this one, I am off to save the world from boring food. One try of SASS Sauce and your soul won't be the only thing that is set on fire, your taste buds will be too!
Stay SASSy...
