Jimmy Kimmel’s right-hand man is branching out with a ssssspicy new side hustle.
Security guard-turned-sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez has officially announced the launch of a new salsa brand. Aptly named Guillermo’s, the brand promises to “bring fresh energy to the Hispanic foods category” with several offerings hitting the shelves of Costco today.
Rodriguez, who co-founded the brand with Ithaca Hummus founder Chris Kirby, teamed up with his Jimmy Kimmel Live! boss for the venture. Kimmel’s Kimmelot Labs is behind the marketing, People reported.
The product lineup includes three varieties of salsa in 14 oz. and 26 oz. options: a medium that will “tickle your mustache a little,” a mild that still promises “the flavor will drive you wild,” and a hot that purports to be “hot and spicy, just like [Guillermo].”
A cartoon version of Rodriguez adorns the packaging, promising customers that he uses “only real, beautiful ingredients that everyone can pronounce.”
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! sidekick first hinted at the brand on Monday, posting a video that teased, “My American dream is coming soon.” The clip featured Rodriguez riding a bald eagle as a voiceover intoned that “something big is coming.”
Rodriguez doubles down on that imagery in a new launch video for the brand, which turns his Jimmy Kimmel Live! origin story into salsa-friendly lore.
Rodriguez had been working as a real security guard at the JKL studio’s parking lot when the show premiered. After he was caught sleeping in former announcer Dicky Barrett’s car, an amused Kimmel plucked him from that position and began putting him on television.
As the brand tells it, that fateful nap in a Ford Fiesta led him to dream that he was soaring on a bald eagle when he spotted a tomato field, inspiring him to launch a “salsa empire.”
Twenty-three years later, it’s not surprising that Rodriguez may be planning his next act. Last month, Jimmy Kimmel renewed his contract for a shorter-than-usual term of one year. Many are taking the abbreviated extension as a sign he’ll retire after the deal ends in May 2027.
For those really looking to get into the spirit of Kimmel’s sidekick, the brand is offering something more than salsa. Those who sign up for its mailing list, the “Mustache Club,” will get a free mustache shipped right to their door.
The medium variety of Guillermo’s Salsa are available now at Costco locations across the Northeast, while the mild and hot salsas are “coming soon.”
