His traveled path has included many turns and curves on his way back to his native Upper Ohio Valley, and now Tom Strussion wishes to expand his businesses into the Northern Panhandle.
Salsa Joe’s Smokehouse along U.S. 40 in Belmont, Ohio, opened in mid-June, and despite the coronavirus pandemic, Strussion has deemed his first location in the Valley a success. The “smokehouse” portion of the eatery’s name comes from the fact that the owner found his love for smoked meats while living in Texas for several years.
“I started what has become Salsa Joe’s in Fort Worth, Texas, but in the very beginning I was doing barbecue. But barbecue is really popular in Texas, and my clients were telling me that they were burned out on it and that they wanted something different,” Strussion explained. “That’s when I told them that I could do Italian or Tex-Mex, and that changed the whole conversation. Once we discussed it, that’s what I started doing for most of my clients.
“A few months later, I was doing more Tex-Mex than I was doing anything else, but I continued using my smoked meats in the meals, and they really enjoyed that,” he said. “That’s when I was doing business under the name Tommy Boy Sausage Co., but then I needed a name change, and that’s where the name Salsa Joe’s came from, and here we are today.”
But what about tomorrow? While Strussion plans to further enhance his eatery in Belmont, he revealed a new location could be on its way in Wheeling.
“I have been looking for another location for more expansion, and I have looked at places in the city of Wheeling,” Strussion said. “Once we make a few decisions about what area of the city would be best for a place like Salsa Joe’s, I hope to move quickly so I can get it open by the beginning of summer if not sooner.
“One reason for that is that we have heard from a lot of people from the Wheeling area that they wish we were closer to them, and those comments have made us think about it, and ultimately to look for the new location,” he said. “We’re excited about it; we really are, and Salsa Joe’s is a great place to work because we are very flexible with our employees, and they enjoy that very much.”
A Homecoming
He was raised in a town known for restaurants like Gulla’s Lunch and The Roosevelt, but like so many, Strussion departed the Upper Ohio Valley after high school to discover opportunity. These days, though, he is doing what he can to reverse that course for others, and now he and his wife, Angela, employ 22 local residents at Salsa Joe’s in Belmont.
“I attribute our success to the fact that no other restaurant in the Valley is doing what we are doing at Salsa Joe’s, and the fact that I am a Valley kid, I believe, makes a difference with a lot of people in the area,” he said. “But you have to have good food that is very consistent. If someone ordered a burrito and loved it, well, when they order it again, it has to be the same as the first time.
“There are challenges, of course, but we have great synergy with our employees and a great vibe for our patrons when they walk in,” Strussion explained. “We work as a team at Salsa Joe’s, and that’s a big part of it. If you don’t have that with your staff, you’re probably not going to make it work well.”
From sausages to smoked meats to Tex-Mex meals, Strussion has evolved his infatuation with the food service industry. In fact, the first Salsa Joe’s continues to thrive, as well, thanks to innovation.
“When Salsa Joe’s opened in Arlington, there was a bar in there, and because we were doing mostly Tex-Mex, we came up with some different drinks to go along with our Margarita’s,” the entrepreneur recalled. “We named the bar, ‘Cantina 14’ that featured 14 signature drinks. We brough that home with us, too, because it’s an example of thinking out of the box and doing something unique.
“The concept worked very well, too, and our customers really liked the food we had on the menu,” he said. “We do make our own salsa every day, and there are a lot of days when we’ll serve five-to-10 gallons. And at our current location, you can have the barbecue, or you can have one of our Tex-Mex items. The people in the Valley really do like our brisket.”
Many Valley natives have returned home following their ventures, so Strussion’s 2020 homecoming wasn’t deemed uncommon. His food, though?
“I was raised in Bellaire, and I’ve always wanted to come home,” Strussion said. “So, I finally came home because my father was getting older. That’s when I called the owner of the property in Belmont and told him my concept, and that’s when I opened up the second Salsa Joe’s on June 14. The pandemic hasn’t made it easy, but we’ve done well while being very careful.
“I still travel to Arlington every other month so go to help my partner down there,” he said. “Before I moved home, I trained the people there for about six months, and they continue to do well despite the virus. Running a restaurant can be very difficult, but I’m happy to say that both places have survived Covid, and now we’re ready to see if we can make it work in the Wheeling area.”
