SALEM, Ohio – It started when a customer entered Salty Mama’s Snacking Boards looking for the Dubai Chocolate Bar she saw on TikTok.
“I personally hadn’t heard of them until a couple of weeks ago. A young lady came in and asked if we had them,” said Calvin Marshall, who works at the store that is owned by his wife, Heather.
The customer wanted to try one, but it’s expensive to order them online.
“So I looked it up online and told my wife about it,” Calvin said. “My wife loves a challenge, so she ordered the stuff right away.”
Heather worked on the recipe for a couple of days and developed what the store calls its pistachio bars.
“So far, people have been loving them,” Calvin said. “They’ve been buying them out like crazy.”
The roots of the craze trace to 2021 in Dubai when a pregnant woman developed it to satisfy a craving. Last year, a TikTok food influencer tried one and the video went viral.
Heather blends pistachio buttercream with kataifi, which is shredded and roasted filo dough, with a touch of tahini and slathers it on top of a layer of milk chocolate in a mold. Another layer of chocolate tops it to create the bar.
She estimates the store sells 24 each day. They aren’t difficult to make, but they are time-consuming. Waiting for the chocolate to harden takes the most time.
A 6-ounce bar costs $12, with a smaller version priced at $5. Hearts for the upcoming holiday are $4.50. Heather also developed a parfait with pistachio cream, kataifi, chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries that costs $5.
“Those have gone just as fast,” Calvin said of the parfait.
He said the crunch of the kataifi draws people in.
“I think the other thing is, it’s not something you can just go down to Walmart and buy,” he said. “It takes a special place to be able to find it and have it.”
And customers keep coming.
“Our first couple of buyers bought a few and gave us good feedback,” he said. “And then we had a couple people who would buy them and put them on Facebook and Instagram and stuff. Ever since then, we sell out almost every day.”
The number of the store’s Facebook followers have increased by 10% too.
“It’s got to be because of these bars, and people are posting out there, ‘Hey, if you want one of these, this is where you go,’” he said.
There’s even a waiting list some days, with people coming into the store two or three times looking for the candy.
“We get calls almost daily. ‘Hey, I can’t get there until after work. Are you going to have any?’” Calvin said.
Becky Stewart works near the store and stopped Tuesday morning to pick up a charcuterie board she’d ordered. She grabbed a pistachio bar, the second one she’s purchased.
“My friend had said something about these Dubai bars, and I had no idea what she was talking about,” Stewart said. “I love pistachios.”
Her friend bought some of the bars at Costco but didn’t like them.
“I said, ‘That’s because you haven’t had Salty Mama’s,’” she said.
Most people love the candy, biting into the bars right away, Calvin said. But a lot of customers want to take the treat home and create a video of themselves breaking into and eating it.
Most of what’s in Salty Mama’s has been created by Heather because it’s something she wanted to eat.
“I’ll see something, like on Facebook or a recipe or something on TikTok, that just looks good to me,” Heather said. “I want to eat it, so that’s why I make it.”
The store at 657 E. State St. opened inside the Courtyard Square in March 2024. Before that, Heather’s treats sold at a vendor shop in Columbiana, but it closed.
She makes large and small charcuterie boards for parties, weddings and other events. The store includes cookies, candies, cocoa and coffee bombs and sandwiches for sale. There’s even a gluten-free selection.
“She’s also a full caterer,” Calvin said of his wife.
Salty Mama’s is a family-owned operation, with Calvin as the spokesman and sales and deliveryman. Heather and her son, Brandon Hensley, make the goodies.
While the pistachio bar marks the first time the store has ventured into the viral world for its creations, it’ll be ready when the next sweet or salty treat hits.
“We are always game to try something new,” Calvin said. “If it’s something we can try, and if you’re having trouble finding it, please stop by, give us a call, talk to us and we’ll see if we can do it for you.”
Pictured at top: From left are Brandon Hensley and Heather and Calvin Marshall of Salty Mama’s Snacking Boards in Salem.