JAYS FOODS

The history of the modern day potato chip started in a very simple way. Leonard Japp, Sr. and a friend bought a rickety truck in 1927 for $50 - $5 down and the rest in payments. They picked up their first load of pretzels for $22.50. By 1929 the pair had a fleet of delivery trucks on the road, shiny new frying vats and fair reason to believe the best was yet to come. Then the stock market crashed. Japp proved resilient, however, bouncing back by the mid-1930’s with a new partner and a se... cond go-round at snacks. The pair’s business flourished under their house brand, Mrs. Japp’s Potato Chips, until Pearl Harbor nearly drove them out of business because of the name’s negative connotation. "We had to rename our company fast. The name Jays was available so we made it Jays Foods," Japp, Sr. said. With the potato chips back on the shelves under the Jays name they became Chicago’s premier potato chip. Jays bolstered its position in the market by including recipes on its bags of chips created by Japp’s wife, Eugenia. With his successful business Japp ventured into other snack territories and began manufacturing popcorn, pretzels and tortilla chips. Jays Foods remained under family control until a decision to sell the company was made in 1986. At a 90th birthday party for Japp, Sr. the rumor was that Jays was on the selling block. Leonard Japp, Jr. turned to his father and asked "Do you want to go back to work?" To which the elder replied "Yeah, why not." So the Japp family reacquired the company in 1994. Jays Foods was born again with the same commitment for quality snacks that has made them the Midwest’s premier snack manufacturer. Today Jays manufactures and distributes a full line of quality snacks including its signature Jays Potato Chips, O-KE-DOKE popcorns, Krunchers! Potato Chips, and a line of Hot Stuff snacks.