Cape Cod Potato Chips were the first kettle-cooked potato chips I ever tried. The Massachusetts-based chip maker didn't invent the kettle-cooked potato chip, but it was the first I had ever seen. I was an instant fan.

Bakeryandsnacks.com says, "The Original Saratoga Chips is considered the first kettle-cooked potato chip in the United States." According to the site, "George Crum first cooked the chips in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1853."

Cape Cod Potato Chips was founded in 1980 by Steve Bernard and his brother Jude. Bernard's wife of 37 years, Lynn, opened a natural foods store, Ardklin Natural Foods, in Harwich in the 1970s. After tasting a kettle-cooked potato in Hawaii, Bernard sold his auto parts store and opened a potato chip business.

Bernard opened a storefront in Hyannis on July 4, 1980, after learning something about the chip-making trade in Pennsylvania.

Cape Cod Potato Chips Is Now Owned By This Major Corporation
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Cape Cod Potato Chips operated as a private company until 1985 when it was sold to beermaker Anheuser-Busch. When Anheuser-Busch ceased making snack foods in 1989, Bernard reacquired the company. In 1999, Snyder's-Lance purchased Cape Cod Potato Chips.

The Campbell Soup Company, operating under the name Campbell's, acquired ownership of Cape Cod Potato Chips in 2018 and remains the parent company today.

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The company's headquarters remain in Hyannis, Massachusetts.

The Cape Cod Times reported that Steve Bernard, the founder of Cape Cod Potato Chips, died on March 9. 2009 at his home in Marstons Mills. He was 61.

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Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

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