From that giant “No tear gas made here” factory banner to statements like “I have had the bad luck to move into a city with a government that acts like a local king,” it’s clear to everyone that Sriracha owner David Tran is tired of — by way of his sauce, at least — being called a public nuisance. So clear, in fact, that offers coming in from around the country from would-be hot-sauce welcoming committees are just getting more and more comical.
First, there was the Philly council member in December, hoping to lure Tran cheesesteak-ward. There are at least nine more: Alabama, Louisiana, Kansas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, Arizona, New Mexico, and West Virginia have all offered asylum to the rooster sauce with the criminally “powerful, painful odor.” Not to be outdone, a San Fernando Valley congressman sent out a relocation-shaming press release yesterday that wondered, “Why send Huy Fong Foods off thousands of miles away when they can stay in California and create jobs here?”
But the most serious overtures are Texas’s. Having seen firsthand what would fill the Sriracha void, a Dallas state rep, Jason Villalba, has been trying to charm Huy Fong since January. Earlier this week, he Facebook-messaged Tran an offer — for the second time, at least — to fly in a delegation to discuss the Lone Star State. Actually, begged may be more appropriate: “I implore the Tran family: just meet with us. Let us tell you what is possible by moving your operations to Texas. You will not be disappointed.”
Sriracha Sauce Maker Considers Relocation [LAT]
Earlier: City Declares Sriracha Factory Smell a Public Nuisance
