MASSILLON, Ohio — At a warehouse facility in Massillon, generations of family members gather to do what seems to run in their blood - transform thousands of pounds of potatoes into the chips they’ve become known for across Stark County and beyond.
At Gold’N Krisp Potato Chips, the recognizable white and red packaging, and the recipe for the chips that fill those bags, haven’t changed much since they were created by Odell Gainey more than 60 years ago.
“My great grandma and grandpa, they had a potato chip company, and when my grandfather got out of the military, he knew that he didn't want to work for anybody else, he wanted to be his own boss,” said Mary Roudebush, Gainey’s granddaughter and current president of Gold’N Krisp.
“When he came home from the army, he worked for them for about a year and decided he wanted to make his own potato chips,” added Doug Roudebush, the company’s general manager and operational manager. Doug is Mary’s father and joined the family business when he married Gainey’s daughter, current company vice president, Beth.
Doug and Mary describe how Gainey then branched off and bought the company, and with the help of his wife, set out to build a chip business.
Sisters Mary, board secretary Katie, and treasurer Jessie, and their parents Doug and Beth, grew up around the family business. Inside their facility, names, dates, and heights scrawled in colorful markers reach up one wall, a visual reminder of the many ways their family has grown with the company.
“When we would add on additions and we'd be laying the cement, we'd have them come in and put their hand prints in the cement,” Doug said, remembering the times his daughters would make their mark on their facility.
“It’s what he wanted for us,” said Katie Kiefer of her grandfather. “He set this place up to give himself independence and then to give his family independence and jobs, and he trained us all so highly. I don’t know, it just means the world.”
More than 60 years ago, Gainey stirred chips by hand in a kettle, tiring work that has since been replaced by high-tech machines and bagging mechanisms. But it’s still all hands on deck, just as it was in the sisters’ childhood.
“[They] used to come in before school and her grandfather would take them to breakfast, but before that they would make up boxes and bag chips,” Doug said of his daughters. “And now here they are later in life working for the chip business every day.”
Beth, Gainey’s daughter, has her own memories of wearing an apron and getting to work when she was younger.
“It was always in the back of my mind and always felt like the right thing to do and, and now even more so just wanting to carry on my grandfather's legacy,” Mary said of working in the family business.
Today, Gold’N Krisp chips are found across Stark County in grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, and larger chain stores like Walmart and Giant Eagle. Mary said they also have a distributor in Columbus, and, as written on the bag, they are “internationally known,” shipping across the United States and further.
According to Doug, every day their team goes through 14,000 pounds of potatoes, slicing, frying, salting, and bagging them. And while customers can find their original and rippled chips in stores, many also come to their door in Massillon. If they get the timing right, they can even get their hands on a fresh bag.
“That's a delicacy on its own when you eat them warm with the salt just on them,” said Doug.
While other companies dabble in different flavors or cuts, Gold’N Krisps have stayed the same through the years, Mary said with such a loyal following, they don’t want to change a thing.
“I think what sets us apart is we have a special blend of oils that is mixed with lard,” she said. “I think that's what gives them the distinct flavor that people really like and [is] just different, and them being kettle cooked and they're just - they're the perfect crunch.”
Keeping the family business alive and continuing to grow has taken long hours and hard work, but those are lessons Doug has been grateful to show his girls.
“Work ethic is a big thing and it's hard to teach somebody that, but when you can show it to them every day and that's the way they've grown up, I take a lot of pride in that,” he said. “We can come in here some days and work 12, 13 hour days like it's nothing and walk out feeling good.”
Like any family, especially one working with each other so closely, there are good days and bad days. The family joked about the amount of business and chip talk at holidays, and Mary said it’s common for them to spend all day together at work, then still call each other to chat when they get home.
While keeping their family business, and their beloved grandfather’s memory alive, has always stayed front and center in their mission, at the heart of it all has been family.
“It's very special and I don't think we take it for granted,” Mary said. “Again, we have hard days and sometimes it is frustrating, but we make sure to not let that last long and just remember what we have and how great it is,” Mary said.
“We continue to be blessed to drive each other crazy and also love each other extra,” said Katie.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above previously aired on 3News on April 16, 2023.