The Story Behind Santa Cruz Market’s Super Salsas

Addictively salty while thirst-quenchingly fresh — plus, as spicy as you like, from mellow to mouth-tingling — the line of salsas sold by Santa Cruz Market engage the taste buds like an edible orchestra, hitting all the notes needed to make this condiment the star of your meal. I occasionally make that salsa, with chips, my entire meal, often by accident, as the small tub evaporates in one sitting, leaving me full and satisfied.    

“Edward Pena,” Tom Modugno replied when I called him up to learn of this salsa’s origins. “He’s the guy who should get the credit.” He also gave props to the current salsa don, Rogelio Castrejon, who’s in charge of its creation at both the Old Town Goleta and West Montecito Street in Santa Barbara locations, and led the brand’s expansion into guacamole, ceviche, and more. 

Modugno knows because his family owned this region’s Santa Cruz Markets for more than 45 years until selling in 2024. Back in the mid-1980s, they started preparing a few packaged deli items for pickup, such as sandwiches. “They never took off that much,” said Modugno. But that opened the door to Pena — who was from the Santa Ynez Valley and worked as a butcher for the markets — to make salsa, reportedly based on his mom’s recipe. 

Sales were “real low-key” to start. “It didn’t blow up right away,” said Modugno of the salsa’s first couple of decades. “We would run out and it was no big deal.”

Over the years, as demographics changed, especially in Old Town Goleta, so did the American palate, so much that Hispanic food became a much more prevalent part of the grocery store. Though Santa Cruz still carries all sorts of items, most people today would classify them as Mexican markets. 

“It used to be more of a ranch market,” said Modugno. “We changed with the neighborhood. We would listen to what our customers wanted, which is why we were successful. We didn’t sell nearly as many marinated meats and specialty Mexican products like they do now. It’s gone through the roof.”

Even with those shifts, the salsa didn’t find a rabid fanbase until the grocery store strikes of the 1990s and early 2000s. “Everyone came to Santa Cruz,” said Modugno. “That was a huge bump in people’s awareness.” 

Then the pandemic threw the market’s popularity into overdrive. “When it really blew up was COVID,” said Modugno. “We got really busy. A lot of stores were out of stuff, so people were expanding their horizons.”

Pena moved on decades ago, at one point driving a bus for the Chumash Casino. He died in 2022. “Ed Pena is gone, but the recipe lived on,” said Modugno. (I tried to reach Pena’s relatives, and got a brief response from a daughter-in-law, but nothing came of it.) 

When Castrejon took on the salsa making, the product expanded into more spice ranges (hot, medium, pico de gallo, etc.) and different offerings, such as guac and ceviche (both fish and shrimp). “He made it a little more authentic, maybe a little spicier,” said Modguno. “He kicked up the garlic quotient on it and made it even better.”

When I met Castrejon at the Santa Cruz Market by West Beach this summer, he told me that he’s worked at the market for more than 25 years now. He makes batches twice per week for both stores, though they still do sell better in Goleta. We shared a few flavors together, standing in the store, including the smoky quemada, the salsa verde, and, my addiction, the straight-up “hot” one. (I also like mixing the hot with the pico de gallo.)

What’s his favorite? “Todos,” replied Castrejon. Claro! 

The salsas are sold only at the two Santa Cruz Markets in Old Town Goleta (5757 Hollister Ave.) and by West Beach (324 W. Montecito St.). See santacruzmarkets.com.