Our Story: Five Generations of Hatch Chile
From Joseph Franzoy's First Harvest to America's #1 Online Chile Source
The Hatch Chile Store isn't just a business—it's a continuation of a family legacy that literally created what the world knows as "Hatch Chile." Our founder, Preston Mitchell, is a 5th-generation descendant of Joseph Franzoy, the Austrian immigrant who became the first commercial chile farmer in Hatch Valley in 1917.
The Family That Started It All
Our family has been farming chile in the Hatch Valley since 1917, when Austrian immigrant Joseph Franzoy became the first person to grow and sell chile commercially outside the valley. His son-in-law Jim Lytle later co-developed the NuMex Big Jim variety with NMSU—still the world's largest green chile. Today, more than 130 chile varieties trace their development from the Franzoy family farms.
Joseph effectively set the stage for the valley to declare itself the Chile Capital of the World. He bought farms for each of his four daughters and six sons, establishing the roots of a family farming tradition that has sustained them for five generations.
— New Mexico Magazine, "The Story of Hatch Green Chile"
Read the full Franzoy family story — from 1917 to today →
Berridge Farms & the Santa Fe Tradition
Where It All Connected
Berridge Farms—our grandparents' company—served the Santa Fe market for more than 15 years, selling tens of thousands of pounds of fresh Hatch Green Chile each year at the intersection of Cerrillos and Baca in downtown Santa Fe.
The Berridge family retailed in Santa Fe from mid-August to late September each year. Most weekends, you'd find two or even three generations of the family helping to roast and sell our famous product—the same way they had for decades.
Our matriarch, Judy Franzoy-Berridge, is a 3rd-generation Hatch Chile farmer who learned the craft from her father Joe and grandfather Joseph. She's the one behind many of the family recipes on this site—and the reason our chile has the flavor it does.
The Berridge Farms tradition drew national attention: Food Network's BBQ with Bobby Flay visited during his New Mexico episode, Sunset Magazine featured the family in their 1998 "Best of the West" issue, Gourmet Magazine published a Berridge Farms Green Chile Stew recipe in 1992, and BBC News covered the farm during their 2008 Hatch Chile Festival reporting. Mountain Living highlighted the Santa Fe roasting tradition, and the Hatch Chile Association credits Preston's launch of the Berridge Farms website as a key moment in bringing Hatch chile to a national audience.
Amigo's Mexican Foods — Our Frozen Foods Operation
Deming, New Mexico Since 1978
Amigo's Mexican Foods is a USDA-inspected food manufacturing facility in Deming, NM, producing tortillas, tamales, burritos, chimichangas, and prepared Mexican foods since 1978. The Hatch Chile Store acquired Amigo's to expand our frozen food production capabilities—allowing us to ship authentic New Mexican prepared foods nationwide.
Amigo's is a Deming community institution, best known locally as the longtime tortilla supplier for the Great American Tortilla Toss at the annual Deming Duck Race—a tradition that's been delighting crowds for decades. Today, Amigo's state-of-the-art facility produces the rellenos, tamales, and chimichangas that Hatch Chile Store customers love, with the same recipes and quality standards that have made them a Luna County staple for nearly 50 years.
Meet Our Founder
Preston Mitchell
Founder & CEO · 5th-Generation Hatch Valley Farmer
It's July 2003. Twelve-year-old Preston sits in front of a blue Dell laptop on a fishing trip in Montana. He Googles "Hatch Green Chile" and finds clunky websites with overpriced chile. He thinks about his grandparents, Judy and Bob Berridge, hauling chile from their farm to loyal customers in Santa Fe. Maybe there's a way to reach more people, he thinks.
Over the next two evenings, Preston maps out an internet sales plan requiring a $300 investment. He calls his grandfather: "Papo, I want to help you. I have an idea." Five minutes later, he gets to work. That first year: 2,000 pounds sold. The next year: 20,000.
What started as a backyard business has grown into one of the Valley's largest shippers of fresh green chile—and Preston never stopped innovating. Today, he serves on the board of the Hatch Chile Association, fighting to protect the Hatch name through a certification mark that ensures consumers know they're getting authentic Hatch Valley-grown chile.
It's incredible to think they had the right idea so long ago and were doing the same thing we're doing now. Agriculture in general is making this movement toward farm-to-table and transparency—knowing where your food comes from. That movement is really bolstering the business model [Joseph Franzoy] had a long time ago.
— Preston Mitchell, in New Mexico Magazine
What We Grow
We grow and contract over 10 different chile varieties across four heat levels — each with its own flavor profile and best uses in the kitchen:
- Mild: Giuseppe, 1904, NM 6-4, Esmeralda
- Medium: Big Jim, Charger, Matador II
- Hot: Sandia Select, G76, Matador
- Extra-Hot: Miss Junie, Lumbre
We'll help you pick the right heat level for your kitchen — and every variety is grown right here in the Hatch Valley or contracted to trusted local farms.
Learn what makes Hatch chile special → · Shop fresh chile by heat level →
Our Freshness Promise
Our produce is the freshest you'll find anywhere—we guarantee it. We start picking bright and early on Wednesdays and ship everything out the same day. Chile quickly loses quality if it isn't refrigerated, so our pick-and-ship policy ensures your chile arrives as fresh and crisp as humanly possible.
Don't be fooled by "Hatch Chile" in large chain grocery stores. Even in New Mexico, much of what's sold as Hatch is actually grown in Mexico and shipped north. At The Hatch Chile Store, we believe the term "Hatch Chile" should only be used by farmers located right here in the Hatch Valley along the Rio Grande.
What We Stand For
Our Mission
To share the authentic taste of the Hatch Valley with the world while protecting the heritage, quality, and name that generations of New Mexican farmers have built. Every product we ship represents over a century of family farming tradition.
Protecting the Hatch Name
Mislabeled chile is a serious threat to Hatch Valley farmers. Companies can buy chile from Mexico at $100 per ton less than local farmers' costs, slap "Hatch" on the label, and charge premium prices—destroying demand for American-grown chile in the process.
That's why Preston and fellow farmers formed the Hatch Chile Association and filed for a federal certification mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The goal: ensure that only chile actually grown in the Hatch Valley can be marketed as "Hatch Chile."
Farmers have been growing chile here in the Hatch Valley for four-plus generations and, as everyone knows, Hatch Chile is famous the world over. We are incredibly blessed to be a part of the history and heritage of the valley and think consumers deserve to be able to tell if the chile they are eating is really grown here in the valley.
— Preston Mitchell, quoted in Albuquerque Journal, Washington Times, and KRQE
By the Numbers
Featured In
Our story has been covered by publications across the country—not because we sought publicity, but because the story of a fifth-generation farm family bringing Hatch chile to the internet era resonates with people who care about food, heritage, and authenticity.
National Food & Lifestyle Publications
James Beard Award winner recommends Hatch Chile Store for "excellent service and produce" — frozen roasted Hatch chile.
Comprehensive guide naming The Hatch Chile Store as a recommended source, with discussion of the certification mark.
Shopping editorial listing The Hatch Chile Store as a recommended source, featuring founder Preston Mitchell.
Recommends The Hatch Chile Store for fresh, roasted, and frozen Hatch green chiles shipped nationwide.
Featured Barbara Mitchell's family recipe. "Mitchell, who runs the Hatch Chile Store" — calling Hatch chile "worth the hype."
Quotes Taylor Grace Mitchell (VP Operations) on harvest timing, authenticity, and what makes Hatch Valley terroir unique.
New Mexico Magazine
"Over 15 years, the Hatch Chile Store became the number-one online source for high-quality, authentic New Mexican products."
"An Austrian immigrant turned Hatch into a chile capital in the 20th century. In the 21st, his great-great-grandson takes it high-tech."
Feature about the store's deep New Mexico roots and family farming heritage going back to Joseph Franzoy.
Profile of Preston Mitchell as a New Mexico entrepreneur who ignited a global craze from a family chile business.
Berridge Farms Heritage Coverage
Bobby Flay visits the green chile harvest, smoked meats, and the iconic Green Chile Cheeseburger in Hatch Valley.
Features Berridge Farms roasting and selling Hatch green chiles at the corner of Cerrillos and Baca in Santa Fe.
Berridge Farms featured in Sunset's iconic Best of the West issue for their Santa Fe chile roasting tradition.
Berridge Farms green chile featured in Gourmet's classic recipe — later adapted on Epicurious.
International coverage of the Hatch Chile Festival featuring Berridge Farms and the valley's farming families.
Industry & Trade Press
"The quality was phenomenal this year." — Preston Mitchell on the 2025 harvest season.
Preston Mitchell quoted on monsoon impacts and growing conditions for the 2025 crop.
Industry publication featuring Preston's analysis of annual crop quality and market conditions.
"The Valley is becoming to chiles what Napa Valley is to wine." — Preston Mitchell on certified Hatch.
Coverage of the Hatch Chile Association's certification mark battle, with Preston quoted on protecting authentic Hatch chile.
Blogs & Buying Guides
Recommends The Hatch Chile Store — "the package arrived still nice and cool, in a 5-pound batch."
Mentions Hatch Chile Store as an online source for Hatch chiles from the Chile Capital of the World.
"Super happy with the ten pounds of Hatch goodness" — personal review of ordering from The Hatch Chile Store.
Official Listings & Directories
NM True official listing highlighting Berridge Farms heritage and the Hatch Chile Store's 5-generation story.
Association bio noting Preston's launch of the Berridge Farms website to expand the customer market.
The Hatch Chile Store Family
Behind every sack of chile, every jar of salsa, and every frozen relleno is a team of people who grew up in this valley and understand what Hatch chile means to New Mexicans—and to the growing community of chile lovers across the country.
The next generation is already here: Preston's children, Luke and Emma, represent the 6th generation of Franzoy descendants in the Hatch Valley—and they have no intention of letting the family legacy stop with them.
Generation Six: Luke & Emma Mitchell
When Joseph Franzoy cleared stumps by hand and loaded his wagon before dawn more than a century ago, he couldn't have imagined that his great-great-great-grandchildren would one day carry on his work. But here they are. Luke, who has spent his young life surrounded by the sights, smells, and rhythms of chile season, already knows what he wants to do when he grows up: "be a chile seller." The business runs in his blood the same way it ran in Joseph's—that instinct to grow something, to bring it to people, to connect through food. Emma is drawn to a different side of the operation. She wants to learn the ins and outs of running a company—the logistics, the decisions, the strategy that keeps a family business growing in a changing world. Together, they represent both halves of what has made the Hatch Chile Store work since the beginning: a love for the product and the know-how to get it to the people who crave it.
Five generations ago, the Franzoy family planted their first chile seeds in Hatch Valley soil. Six generations later, the roots run deeper than ever. The tradition continues.
Taste Five Generations of Heritage
Every order from Hatch Chile Store connects you to over a century of family farming tradition—shipped direct from the valley that invented commercial Hatch chile.