Business

Capital City Mambo Sauce Partners with Papa Johns to Add D.C. Flare

THE AFRO — Despite Mayor Muriel Bowser’s controversial denunciation of mambo sauce as a D.C. staple last November, most Washingtonians laud the flavor as a true District flavor that adds pizzazz to dishes from the carry out to homemade delights. Now, having recently teamed up with local husband and wife entrepreneurs Charles and Arsha Jones, owners of Capital City Mambo Sauce, Papa John’s chains in the DMV are giving residents a chance to have the District’s dip on wings, chicken poppers or on the side.

Published

6 years ago

March 29, 2019

Oakland Post

By Micha Green

Despite Mayor Muriel Bowser’s controversial denunciation of mambo sauce as a D.C. staple last November, most Washingtonians laud the flavor as a true District flavor that adds pizzazz to dishes from the carry out to homemade delights. Now, having recently teamed up with local husband and wife entrepreneurs Charles and Arsha Jones, owners of Capital City Mambo Sauce, Papa John’s chains in the DMV are giving residents a chance to have the District’s dip on wings, chicken poppers or on the side.

The AFRO spoke to the Jones family about how Capital City Mambo Sauce came to be, and their most recent business expansion with a nationally renowned franchise such as Papa Johns.

“We got the idea when we moved out to the suburbs and we loved mambo sauce and couldn’t get it in the area we were living in. One day Arsha had came out and said, ‘Maybe I should try making this at home for the family,’ because we have four boys as well,” Charles Jones told the AFRO. “And pretty much we used to have tastings with our family and our friends, and somebody was like, ‘Y’all should sell this.’ And one thing led to another and we ended up selling our own product online.”

Arsha Jones weighed in explaining that the reason why she and her husband decided to sell their product was about providing for their growing family.

“Our family was growing, and we know we needed to supplement our income. So really that was the only goal, was just bringing more into the house and to be able to take care of our family,” she explained.

Since their business launch and boom in 2011, the Jones have seen tremendous growth of the Capital City Mambo Sauce brand, which went from their kitchen, to online, to now selling their product in 630 grocery stores.

Collaborating with Papa John’s is the newest, and arguably largest venture in the Capital City Mambo Sauce expansion.

“This is probably the biggest deal in terms of partnership and working with restaurant chains,” Arsha Jones told the AFRO. “A company that knows us reached out to the franchise owners. Some of the locally owned and operated Papa John’s restaurants thought it’d be a great idea to partner together and get this local flavor and have it offered through the Papa John’s channels in this area. We thought it was an excellent idea.”

Besides the great opportunity, the Joneses felt that the collaboration spreads the mambo sauce wealth further.

“Papa John’s serves a lot of the communities that our product is popular in anyway and then it also would give a chance to give people who may have not heard of our product, a chance to try it,” Arsha Jones said.

Those who haven’t tried mambo sauce might not understand why the product is important or why this new collaboration with local Papa Johns is a big deal, yet the Joneses explained the significance.

“It’s a sense of pride and it comes from the fact that outsiders tend to have this one perception of what Washington, D.C. is. They think it’s politics, and government and White House and whatever goes on down there, but there is a huge community of people in Washington, D.C. who were born and raised here, and we have slangs, dialects, style, music, dances and food,” Arsha Jones, a native Washingtonian, told the AFRO.

“And while other urban cities, like New York and Philadelphia, all have certain food that is associated with their community, mambo sauce is relatively underground, but it’s something that makes us feel like home, so it’s important that our food product- a product of Washington, D.C.- is put on a platform where it can be respected the same way a Chicago deep dish pizza can be respected, or the same way a New York slice of pizza or New York bagel can be respected,” she said.

“Our main goal is to make sure that we’re being authentic to our community, but also giving our product and our community a platform, so people outside of this area can know that there is a whole lot of culture in this area,” Arsha Jones emphasized.

With incredible growth from the kitchen to local Papa Johns locations, the Joneses hope to encourage other creative entrepreneurs to start selling their own products.

“We want people to know that there’s help out here if you really want it, and don’t just think that is just your family sauce and that no one will buy it, or that it’s just a secret for you guys, because you just never know,” Arsha Jones said. “You might be one of those brands that turns into a Sweet Baby Ray’s or Texas Pete hot sauce.

For more information on Capital City Mambo Sauce the Joneses encourage people to try their product, particularly with the new Papa John’s collaboration.

“We challenge anybody to go out there to Papa John’s to try the chicken wings and the chicken poppers and give us some feedback on our website and social media at shopcapitalcity.com,” Charles Jones told the AFRO.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

NNPA Foundation Wraps up Successful Black Press Week in Washington

Don't Miss

Kappa Alpha Psi Alumni Chapter Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Oakland Post

2 Comments

Activism

Oak Temple Hill Hosts Interfaith Leaders from Across the Bay Area

Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Published

1 day ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Troy McCombs (from the state of Washington), Elder Mark Mortensen (from Irvine, CA), Michael Pappas, Rev. Ken Chambers, Dr. Ejaz Naqvi, Elder Sigfried Nauman (from the state of Washington), and Richard Kopf. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

Interfaith leaders from the Bay Area participated in a panel discussion at the annual meeting of communication leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held on Temple Hill in Oakland on May 31. Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Chambers, said he is thankful for the leadership and support of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints’ global ministry, which recently worked with the interfaith congregations of ICAC to help Yasjmine Oeveraas a homeless Norwegian mother and her family find shelter and access to government services.

Oeveraas told the story of how she was assisted by ICAC to the Oakland Post. “I’m a Norwegian citizen who escaped an abusive marriage with nowhere to go. We’ve been homeless in Florida since January 2024. Recently, we came to California for my son’s passport, but my plan to drive for Uber fell through, leaving us homeless again. Through 2-1-1, I was connected to Rev. Ken Chambers, pastor of the West Side Missionary Baptist Church and president of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County, and his car park program, which changed our lives. We spent about a week-and-a-half living in our car before being blessed with a trailer. After four years of uncertainty and 18 months of homelessness, this program has given us stability and hope again.

“Now, both my son and I have the opportunity to continue our education. I’m pursuing cyber analytics, something I couldn’t do while living in the car. My son can also complete his education, which is a huge relief. This program has given us the space to focus and regain our dignity. I am working harder than ever to reach my goals and give back to others in need.”

Richard Kopf, communication director for The Church of Jesus Christ in the Bay Area stated: “As followers of Jesus Christ, we embrace interfaith cooperation and are united in our efforts to show God’s love for all of his children.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Council Approves Budget to Invest in Core City Services, Save Fire Stations, Invest in Economic Development

I am most proud of our ability to fund these critical city services without the use of one-time fixes. We are still suffering the consequences of last year’s budget, where a majority of the Council, myself not included, chose to incorporate anticipated proceeds from the sale of the Coliseum to fund essential services. Since the sale has still not yet been completed, the lack of funds led to drastic cuts in city services, including the temporary closure of fire stations, staff layoffs, and the cancellations of many service contracts.

Published

1 day ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Photo courtesy City of Oakland.

By Janani Ramachandran, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember

On Wednesday, June 11, City Council took a bold step to prioritize investing in essential city services to get our beautiful Town back on track. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I am proud to have led a collaborative process, alongside Councilmembers Rowena Brown, Zac Unger, and Charlene Wang, to develop a set of amendments to the proposed FY 2025-2027 budget which passed successfully with a vote of 6 – 1. Despite facing a $265 million structural budget deficit, we were able to restore funding to ensure that all 25 fire stations remain open, fund 5 police academies, invest millions of dollars to combat illegal dumping and sideshow prevention, improve our permitting processes, fund a “business incentives” program to revitalize our commercial corridors, improve upon our homelessness prevention work, amplify the city’s anti-trafficking programs, re-instate our tree services division, staff up our Auditor’s office – all while preventing any layoffs of city staff, keeping our senior centers and after-school programs open, and crisis services like MACRO funded.

Our budget comes in response to the widespread and consistent calls from across Oakland’s diverse communities asking us to prioritize funding solutions to the issues that have most directly impacted our residents’ safety and quality of life. Our priorities are also inspired by our belief that Oakland is on the way not only to financial recovery, but also to global recognition. Oakland can attract and preserve businesses of all sizes with safer, cleaner streets. We can and will have more large-scale festivals that celebrate our culture, concerts that uplift our incredible local musicians, conferences that attract patrons from across the world, and award-winning restaurants that top national charts. We are on our way to rebuilding a thriving economy and having a cultural renaissance will create more jobs for Oaklanders while also generating more revenue for the City through sales and business taxes.

I am grateful for the close partnership with our new Mayor Barbara Lee, and know that she shares our values of ensuring we are prioritizing keeping Oakland’s residents safe, our streets clean, and our businesses prosperous in an open and fiscally responsible manner. I am also thankful to our City Administrator, Jestin Johnson, and former Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins’ efforts to produce the initial proposal that our Council budget team used as a starting point for our amendments, and for their shared commitment to transparency and ethical government. I am especially grateful for every resident that took the time to make their voice heard throughout this rigorous budget process. I have no doubt that we are on the verge of true change, and that together we will bring Oakland back to being the world-class city I know it can be.