Welcome to North Fork Potato Chips and Martin Sidor Farms!

Farming runs deep in our veins. In 1910, my Polish grandfather started growing potatoes on Long Island’s North Fork. By the time my wife, Carol, and I began tending to the 170-acre farm in the 1970s,  times were tough. Small North Fork farms had to compete with much larger corporations growing potatoes out West. On top of that, the Atkins low carb craze was killing potato sales. We were afraid we’d have to give up generations of potato farming to history.

So with the odds against us, we got creative and came up with a hearty new chip, kettle cooked in nothing but real sunflower oil. Then we did some extensive marketing research. (We invited all our friends over for a tasting party). Pretty soon, with the help of our three children, we were selling chips by the caseload. Then we introduced Barbeque and Sweet Potato Chips. Then began rolling out both Cheddar & Onion and Sour Cream & Onion. Today we split the business. I farm. Carol makes the chips.

In case you’re wondering why North Fork Potato Chips have such an authentic potato flavor, it’s no secret. We’re one of just a handful of potato farmers left who make their own chips. Plus, the north forks abundant sun, ocean precipitation, and great soil make for great flavor. We only use the very best chipping spuds. And, while some suggested cooking with cottonseed oil like the bigger chip makers do, Carol insisted on using only real sunflower oil. It costs more but nothing tasted quite as good or lets the flavor of the potato come through as much. Plus it’s as healthy as olive oil.

“Kettle Cooked” chips are cut twice as thick as regular potato chips (and sweet potato chips are even thicker). That means maximum crunch, minimal greasiness. Because our potatoes come right from our field and our barn, they’re fresher. We never add any preservatives. Ever.  They’re all-natural, Kosher, and even “green” since we started using more environmental methods of farming.

What could have been the end of an era for three generations of family farming became the beginning of a tasty new chapter.

Keep on crunchin’,
Martin and Carol