History of Guy's Seasoning Company
Guy's Seasoning Company
Guy's Seasoning is a sister company of Guy's Market and shares its unique history. Guy's Market was founded in 1938 by Brad C. "Guy" Dickens in Houston, Texas. The first store was located at 5111 Almeda Road next to Hermann Park and Almeda Stables. The Dickens family lived in an apartment above the store. We "processed" our own chickens , bought fresh produce at the Market (Produce Row) daily (had to get up at 4:00am for this), and had a bakery, meat market, and shelves of groceries (limited by the WWII allotments). Each night on the floor we counted our earnings which included WWII coupons. Sugar was a luxury.
A second store was opened in the 40's on Scott Street between North McGregor and the University of Houston (near the "SuperHighway" to Galveston). Everyone in the family worked in either the Almeda Rd. store or the Scott Street store including Aunt Mollie, Grandmother Rita Dickens, and Uncle Charles. Not to mention our extended family of Fred Ward, "Dan the Vegetable Man", Minnie Charter, Freeman Grounds, and Miz Gleason. What a great bunch. 
The popularity of the BBQ and Deli is what started Guy's quest for a great seasoning that would enhance the flavor of all of his cooked foods. The popularity of his BBQ and and other prepared foods started Guy's quest for an all-purpose seasoning that would put a "flavor, aroma, and appearance brand" on his products. He got Guy's Seasoning right in 1952 and the formula hasn't changed since that time.
In 1958 Guy's Meat Market on Old Spanish Trail opened. This store concentrated on the meat dept. with just a "convenient" amount of groceries. The aroma of cooking BBQ wafted out of the store drawing in hordes of hungry people at lunch and dinner time. Guy's Seasoning was bottled and sold to the public for the first time. It was hard to keep up with wholesale/retail sales of the seasoning while keeping the market supplied. Ms. Nell, Guy's wife, ran the "seasoning operation" as well as being cashier and manager of the store as Guy's health became compromised. Guy retired in 1970, and his son, Brad, took over and is operating the store and producing Guy's Seasoning today.
Brad has set standards even higher than Guy (if that's possible) and has this to say: "I credit a lot of our success to Guy's Seasoning. We use it in our BarBQ Beans, Potato Salad, Homemade Chile, BarBQ Sauce, and all of the Beef, Ribs, and Chicken that we sell everyday... and in the six different custom sausages that we make and sell."
Learn more about Brad Dickens
