A Brief History
Hot Licks is among the oldest and most unusual hot sauce stores in the United States. Hot Licks began with a single vendor's cart in San Diego, California, soon growing to three retail stores in the Southern California area. Each of our three locations feature a huge inventory of hot sauces, salsas, mustards, barbeque sauces, condiments, snack foods and an eclectic assortment of gift items.

In 1994 the first Hot Licks store opened in Seaport Village near San Diego's famous Embarcadero, followed closely by our Long Beach store in Shoreline Village which began operation in 1995. In 1998, we opened our third store in Horton Plaza Shopping Center in the heart of Downtown San Diego. In July of 1999, Hot Licks premiered our first sauce, Suicide, followed quickly by our Serrano Sauce, Spicy Green Sauce, Mustard, and Artichoke Salsa. A barbeque sauce and various spicy snacks are on the drawing board in the near future.

Since 1995, Hot Licks has hosted our annual Hot Licks Fiery Foods Festival in Seaport Village. The festival focuses on local manufacturers of hot and spicy foods. Live local bands and hot sauce/salsa contests are featured at this fun and lively event.

What You'll Find At Hot Licks
Our stores maintain a festive atmosphere, thanks to friendly and knowledgeable salespeople. We carry such a dizzying array of items that asking for help is encouraged. You may think that we don't carry an item -- but we just might!

Feel free to sample any product before purchasing to ensure that you're buying a product you'll really enjoy. Just ask one of our helpful salespeople for assistance first. We carry hot sauces which are so blazingly hot, you'll have to sign a waiver prior to purchase.