I never planned on breaking my ankle. But that’s kind of how this whole thing started.
I’m Chris — most people around here just call me Captain — and if you’ve bought a jar of Beach Sand at the Pismo Beach Farmers Market, or you’re just stumbling onto this site for the first time, I wanted this first post to actually tell you the real story. Not the polished version. The real one.
I’m from Bakersfield originally — Central Valley kid. I moved out to Pismo Beach about fourteen years ago, and before that I spent time in Santa Maria and Orcutt. But the Central Coast has been my backyard since I was a kid — we used to come camp on the dunes, ride out there, my dad would grill right in the open with the wind blowing sand onto everything. More on that in a second.
I never grew up on a boat. I’ve been deep sea fishing, I’ve been out on boats — but I’m not some old salt with sea legs. The “Captain” thing came later, and honestly, it grew on me more than I planned it.
What I actually had, for years, was barbecue. I came up working at Far Western Tavern, in Santa Maria-style barbecue country — smoke, tri-tip, real fire-cooked flavor — before I ever thought about bottling anything. That’s where the obsession with seasoning started. I always believed the rub or the blend was what actually made a dish, and I was the guy blending my own instead of grabbing whatever was on the shelf. Later I worked at a hotel restaurant right here in Pismo Beach, alongside a good friend of mine, chef Robert. Different kitchen, same instinct — I was always chasing better flavor.
During COVID, our kitchen at the hotel got hit hard — cooks calling out constantly, some days it was just me and Robert holding down the whole line. It was rough. One day I was up on the rooftop doing paperwork, talking to Robert, and I said something like, “You know what, I’m just going to start bottling my own seasonings. I’m going to become the Central Coast Spice Company.”
We laughed about it. I meant it, a little. But it stayed a joke for a while.
The real turning point wasn’t the kitchen — it was a lot dumber than that. I was at home cooking with some friends, one of them slipped and fell, and I broke my ankle trying to help him up. I spent the next couple months stuck on the couch, and I am not built to sit still. I’ve always had to be doing something. So instead of resting like I was supposed to, I started actually building the thing I’d only been talking about.
It didn’t start as Captain Spice. First it was the Central Coast Spice Company — I wanted to be known for Central Coast flavor the way people talk about Santa Maria style or Texas barbecue. Then it became Captain Spice Seasonings. I’d always known I wanted “Captain” in there somewhere — we’re right on the beach, I love anything nautical, I love pirate stuff — it just fit. The “Co.” came a little later, once I knew I wanted this to become more than just seasoning jars someday — hot sauces, cookware, a real kitchen brand.
I threw the name ideas out to a Facebook group of locals and friends from all over trying to help me land on something. Then I needed a logo, and I can’t draw to save my life, so I found a designer on Fiverr. Her first pass was just the initials — “CS.” I told her no, I need a character, I need this to feel like a brand, not just letters. A few months and a handful of drafts later, she sent back the bearded captain in the ship’s wheel, and I knew instantly — that’s the one.
Somewhere along the way, wearing the name became part of who I am. People call me Captain now more than they call me Chris. Took some getting used to. Now I genuinely love it.on to cook boldly.
People ask about Beach Sand a lot, so here’s the real answer: I brainstormed it with an old coworker of mine. Partly it’s because the blend itself visually looks like sand from the beach. But the real reason goes back to my dad. When we camped out on the dunes, he’d grill right out in the wind, and sand would blow onto everything — the burgers, the chicken — and we’d eat it anyway. I used to joke that he’d “seasoned the burgers with beach sand again.” It gives you that little crunch. So when I made a blend that actually looked like sand, the name wrote itself.
Ballast Dust came from that same friend — he explained to me what a ballast on a ship actually does, how it keeps the whole thing stable. Once I heard that, it made sense: this is the seasoning that keeps pork balanced — sweet, smoky, heat, all in the right proportion. He named it, I kept it.
I never thought this would get big. I just wanted to build something that was mine. It’s grown slowly — it’s been several years, there have been real hiccups, and at one point I nearly lost the company entirely. We still struggle with money. I work a full-time job to fund this dream, because that’s the deal — you work your job to pay for your dream, you don’t wait for the dream to pay you first.
What’s kept it going is honestly the local stores and the customers on the Central Coast. They put us on shelves when we had no business asking for that kind of trust, and they still do. This isn’t just my company — it’s built by everybody who’s picked up a jar and decided to give it a shot.
I want Captain Spice to bring people together at a table. That’s it, really. Take one of these blends, cook something for the people you care about, and be excited about it. If it takes buying a jar of seasoning to get you cooking for your family more often — even once a month — I’ll take that trade every time.
So welcome aboard. This is where we’ll share the real stuff — the recipes, the techniques, the market stories, and yeah, some more of this. Glad you’re here.
— Captain
