“My father got tired of working in a factory in Greenville and wanted his own business. He opened a nightclub, and that didn’t work out. Someone suggested tamales. Black families have been making tamales around here for more than 100 years. A lady in Arkansas showed him how to make them then Dad tinkered with his own recipe with a lot of trial and error. He started selling them in 1978 with the recipe we still use today. Greenville, Mississippi is now the Hot Tamale Capital of the World and has the Delta Hot Tamale Festival in October.
Dad started out making tamales in the kitchen and sold them to neighbors. Stein Mart was a national department store chain that started in Greenville. My mother sold tamales at Stein Mart Square. She did well, and their business grew from there. My parents had six kids and brought us along as labor. I have been working with tamales since I was seven years old. My dad asked the family for a name, and I hollered out Hot Tamale Heaven. He went with it and the name stuck.
Today, the three sons work in the business, and the three daughters are in education. My brothers are in charge of the tamale plant, and my wife and I have this restaurant. There is a lot of work making tamales on a big scale. We also sell them to other restaurants.
My dad is proud to see his dream lived out in his children. He is semi-retired and lives with my mom on a little farm. They come to eat and enjoy themselves.
I am not getting any younger. It is time to bring my own kids in.”
Aaron Hot Tamale Heaven
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