Be-Mo Potato Chip Company

A Salty Local Treat

One of the city’s most treasured food manufacturers was the Be-Mo Potato Chip Company. The firm’s 20,000-square-foot concrete and brick factory still stands along the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail at 818 Cobb Avenue, despite efforts to have the building torn down in 1994 by city officials.

The Be-Mo Potato Chip Company, known for their red and white tin cans, was established by Charles H. Mott in 1930. The name of the company derived from the first two letters of his last name and his son-in-law’s, David BeshGetoor, who served as company president for many years. Mott, from Calhoun County, had been a farmer and a streetcar conductor before getting into the snack business. In 1971, Mott donated 80 acres of land for the creation of the Martha Mott Bird Sanctuary in Almena Township.

The first location of Be-Mo was located in the 1800 block of W. Main Street, but they soon relocated to the northside, where they would remain until filing bankruptcy in 1984. A 1964 Kalamazoo Gazette feature article indicated the company had “65 employees and 36 trucks.” Chip flavors included plain, barbecue and sour cream. By the early 1960s, the company brought in W.W. Case to be its general manager. Case was interested in diversifying their product line. Case saw a market for selling the seasoning applicators used to make the tasty treats, and hoped to fully automate the chip-making process within a few years. At this time, the company also sold popcorn. In 1971, several employees who worked on the assembly line went on strike and joined a labor union. The workers demanded a twenty cent raise that would boost their hourly wage closer to $2.00/hr. In 1982, a costly fire led to $7000 worth of damage to equipment and the building’s roof. Two years later, the company closed up its operations for good after a second fire had begun due to a combination of overheated equipment and grease.

Article written by Ryan Gage, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, February 2026