How a Passionate Fanbase Turned The Wall of Flame Into a California Tortilla Staple

At a standard restaurant serving Mexican or Mexican-inspired fare, you’re lucky if you get more than two different hot sauce options from which to choose. At California Tortilla, however, that standard is set approximately 75 times higher. Because it holds flavor in such high regard across its entire menu, Cal Tort couldn’t limit its selection to even just a few hot sauce options.

Little did COO Keith Goldman and CEO Bob Phillips know at the time that before long, they’d become hot sauce connoisseurs in every sense of the word.

Goldman and Phillips are the masterminds behind much of what makes Cal Tort unique considering the two took the brand from a popular local joint to the 45-unit franchise system it is today. Though much has evolved at California Tortilla over the brand’s 18-year history with Goldman and Phillips at the helm, the brand’s true staple and fan favorite is the Wall of Flame: An entire wall dedicated to hot sauce available at all California Tortilla restaurants, complete with over 75 different options for guests to choose from.

While now a defining feature of each and every Cal Tort restaurant, it took some time for the Wall of Flame to grow to its current proportions. To fully understand how it came to be requires consultation of the Cal Tort history books—so please direct your attention to Chapter 1.

In the beginning, Goldman recounted, “We chose some hot sauce options with humorous names and fun labels that amplified the personality of the brand. Our guests loved them, and as they asked for more options, our selection grew.”

While it’s standard practice for many restaurants to tout its famous patrons through various photos hung haphazardly on its walls, Cal Tort instead used its wall space as storage for its growing collection of hot sauces. One customer took notice and dubbed the collection the Wall of Flame—and, well, it stuck.

“As time passed, our curation of hot sauces for the Wall of Flame also evolved,” Goldman continued. “We went from humorous labels to sourcing hot sauces with flavor profiles that complemented the flavors and sauces featured on our menu.”

To illustrate how the Wall of Flame quickly turned Cal Tort into a destination for hot sauce fanatics, Goldman recounted a story from years ago when a local vendor, J.T. Pappy’s, pitched its line of hot sauces to Cal Tort in an effort to get the brand to add a few to its collection.

“After we added the line of sauces to the Wall of Flame, the brand developed a sort of cult following—our guests sought out the hot sauces, so much so that when the vendor stopped production of the J.T. Pappy’s hot sauces, Cal Torters revolted.”

Goldman said the brand received emails begging for their return of the hot sauces on a regular basis for years before ultimately reviving the line on its own. “Our fans everywhere stocked up on bottles—it just goes to show how important the Wall of Flame is to the Cal Tort experience,” he said.

Fast-forward to today, and that same passion still exists among the Cal Tort faithful. According to Phillips, the past few years have seen a boom in consumer interest in the brand’s culture of hot sauce curation, leading Cal Tort to further up its game.

“The options on the Wall never stay stagnant,” Phillips said noting the brand recently added four new hot sauce options last quarter with plans for even more on the horizon. “Keith is constantly taste-testing new hot sauces to create a well-rounded portfolio on the Wall of Flame that spans the spectrum, from fruity to spicy and everything in between. He even digs down into the types of peppers used in some of these hot sauces. It’s become quite serious business,” he joked.

And as far as why he feels this level of effort is more than necessary, Goldman emphatically pointed to the elevated customer experience on which Cal Tort hangs its hat as reason alone for the attention to detail. In its continued quest to ensure there’s an option for everyone, the brand even labels the sauces 0-10 by heat level to ensure even the mildest of taste buds are satisfied.

“The Wall of Flame allows Cal Tort customers to further customize their meals with the exact heat and flavor they want,” Goldman said. “We see it all the time – guests come in, pick out three to six different bottles at a time and have fun experimenting with the various flavors and to find what they like. It adds to the appeal of coming in the door, and really adds to the guest experience as a whole.”