Vendor Spotlight: Portland Spicy Peanut Butter

Written by Dan Jackson

Photo by Haley Simpson

Photo by Keri Friedman

Who knew that one of the biproducts of clowning around could be the inception of a small business? Well, back in 2016, after his roommate returned from a “Clowns Without Borders” trip to Haiti, Kylee Wegner was gifted a deliciously unique jar of Haitian peanut butter. After the first bite, Kylee immediately wanted to replicate the product.
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“At the time, I knew nothing about the art of making peanut butter, but I had cut my teeth slinging burgers, pastas, and other eclectic foods in my culinary career,” recalled Kylee.
Coming to learn that peanuts are actually legumes (I bet you didn’t know that!), Kylee decided to take a private lesson with a coffee roaster he had been working with at the time to learn the art of roasting . And wouldn’t you know it — coffee beans and peanuts behave quite similarly! From there, Portland Spicy Peanut Butter was born!

Although the inception of Portland Spicy Peanut Butter came about with the help of clowns, the ability to legally distribute nut butter was no joking matter! Kylee had to embark on a four-year journey to achieve his goals, and thankfully his perseverance cultivated the ability to distribute his spicy products at the Rocky Butte Farmers Market! Kylee says his focus is and always will be, “making delicious hand roasted peanut butter,” and to, “continue to inspire others to explore artisan nut roasting.”

While creating phenomenal nut butter is the priority, Portland Spicy Peanut Butter also strives to support the community through local art projects. One of the ways Kylee has been committed to this cause is through commissioning custom t-shirt designs by local artists “that really showcase the artist’s style while still paying homage to Portland Spicy Peanut Butter. I wanted to create a program to give visual artists residuals for the work that they have created,” he said.

Kylee’s unique and steadfast engagement with the community is what makes Portland Spicy Peanut Butter such an outstanding vendor to have at the Rocky Butte Farmers Market. According to Kylee, “connection to the community, art, and tackling the challenges of making the ethical choice over the profitable one” is always at the forefront of Portland Spicy Peanut Butter’s decisions.

When asked what he enjoys about the Rocky Butte Farmers Market, Kylee said that it’s, “a small neighborhood market with a terrific and knowledgeable staff that truly loves being a part of such a terrific community.” Kylee also noted that the market’s new location has injected new life into the weekly event.

Portland Spicy Peanut Butter works tirelessly to serve as an anchor in the community. Kylee simply wants to continue creating, distributing, and expanding the reaches of his nut butter while simultaneously uplifting local artists and supporting other members of the market. So, let’s lend him as much support as possible and stop by his booth on Saturdays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the corner of NE 80th Avenue and NE Siskiyou Street. You can watch him clown around while checking out some of his locally designed t-shirts or sampling some of that spicy peanut butter! Currently, Portland Spicy Peanut Butter offers the “original” and “reaper” nut butter flavors which are a great accompaniment for toast, apples, an Asian-inspired noodle dish, and much more!

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Photo by Keri Friedman