The Chelsea community is mourning the loss of John Brown, who started the Chelsea Fire Wicked Hot Sauce company in the city and built it into a national brand from his offices on Carter Street across from the high school.
According to a friend, Mr. Brown suffered a fatal heart attack while on vacation in the Dominican Republic in August. He was 55 years old.
John Brown first began developing the idea for a business after taking the hot peppers from his own personal garden and making a hot sauce for his family and friends. The group enjoyed the hot sauce so much that they encouraged John to start selling it at stores. Mr. Brown launched the company and named it Chelsea Fire Wicked Hot Sauce, referencing the two Great Chelsea Fires of 1908 and 1973. The hot sauces became immensely popular, and bottles of John’s Chelsea Fire Wicked Hot Sauce were available for purchase at such supermarkets as Market Basket and Stop & Shop.
A resident of Chelsea for many years, John was a frequent visitor to the Plaza Mexico Restaurant at 170 Washington Ave. where he would engage in conversation with his many friends, including the restaurant’s long-time owner, Miguel Sanchez Galeana.
“John was like a brother and touched so many lives,” said Sanchez Galeana. “He was a great guy. He would come to my restaurant all the time. He loved to talk with people. He did a great job with his company. He had just retired five months ago. John will be missed.”
City Council President Leo Robinson was also a close friend of John Brown. “John was a neighborhood guy, a successful businessman, and a good friend,” said Robinson. “He was so kind and generous. When we traveled to Denver for the All-America City Awards Ceremony, John provided the group with several cases of his hot sauce so they could distribute it to other people that were there. We were swapping the hot sauces for buttons or other souvenirs with people from cities across the United States.”
A celebration of Mr. Brown’s life has been tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8 in Saugus.