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The legend goes that potato chips were born in 1853 when a disgusted customer at the Saratoga Springs restaurant Moon’s Lake House demanded that his order of fried potatoes be thinner and less soggy. Cook George “Speck” Crum made the patron’s wishes come true, creating Saratoga Chips. Although this potato chip invention is likely a myth, the city of Saratoga Springs certainly popularized the snack, giving rise to the potato chip and other varieties to follow, all available in a wide range of flavors.
In the early 20th century, chip brands found their footing with local customers happy to munch on handfuls of these burgeoning snacks. Yet for every old-school brand that is still delivering the goods — like Frito-Lay, Utz, Wise, and Mikesell’s — many lost their way, for one reason or another, and today have vanished from store shelves. The Takeout is revving up the old snack food time machine and heading to the past to give some much-needed love and respect to some of these once-beloved chip brands. They may be bygone, but they shall never be forgotten.
Bell Brand
Ukrainian immigrant Max Ginsberg and his brothers made and sold pretzels on the street and expanded into potato chips when they founded the Los Angeles Saratoga Chip and Pretzel Co. and Bell Potato Chip & Pretzel Co. in 1921. Bell Brand potato chips featured a signature mission bell as its logo. The chips went on to co-star opposite Marilyn Monroe, who paired them with champagne in the 1955 film, “The Seven Year Itch,” and were seen in the hands of Liz Taylor, Jane Powell, and Roddy McDowall…