![]() ![]() Albert Kronkosky was president of the company, and William Gebhardt served as vice president. Two plants in San Antonio employed more than 100 people. By 1915 Gebhardt Chili Powder Company was heralded as the largest spice manufacturer in the world. In 1911 Gebhardt acquired his butcher’s license, which allowed his company to grow and diversify its products by selling canned chili and canned tamales. It was one of the first cookbooks to focus on Mexican-American cooking and spurred several later editions. Gebhardt Chili Powder Company published a cookbook, Mexican Cooking, in 1908 in an effort to introduce and educate the American public on Mexican food. Gebhardt initially sold his powder in Texas, but his success with his product allowed him to take credit as the first entrepreneur to market his chili powder on a large scale. He soon obtained financial investment from his brother-in-law, Albert Kronkosky, and the company incorporated in 1903. Gebhardt moved to San Antonio in 1898 and opened a factory on West Commerce Street. In 1896 Gebhardt debuted the name Gebhardt’s Eagle Brand Chili Powder, and he registered the Eagle Brand name and trademarked his Eagle Brand Chili Powder. This surplus allowed him to stock up and sell his powder any season of the year. Having learned that, historically, American Indian groups had used ancho peppers for seasoning, Gebhardt imported ancho peppers by the wagonload from San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Producing approximately five cases of chili powder at a time, he drive his wagon into town to sell to various markets. He packed the dried powder, which he initially called “Tampico Dust,” into small airtight glass bottles. He discovered that by drying his chili peppers and grinding them into a flavored powder, he could keep the powder fresh for several months. Over those years, Gebhardt experimented with grinding herbs and dried peppers, and he cooked a variety of chilies for his customers. For four years he operated the establishment in the back of a saloon, known variously as Miller’s and later the Phoenix Saloon, and located on the corner of West San Antonio Street and Castell Street. In 1892 young Gebhardt opened a café in New Braunfels, Texas. Gebhardt’s interest in Mexican food fueled his desire to start the company, which went on to shape the commercialization of chili powder and Mexican convenience foods across the United States for nearly a century. Gebhardt Mexican Foods Company was a San Antonio-based firm that was started in 1896 by William Gebhardt, a German immigrant who settled in New Braunfels, Texas, with his parents in the 1880s. ![]()
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