Check Out When And Where Duke S Mayonnaise Was Invented In South Carolina In The Early 1900S

If you’re a mayonnaise lover and you’re from South Carolina, then chances are good that you’re also brand loyal to Duke’s. But on the outside chance you aren’t already a fan of the nation’s number three brand of mayonnaise, then here’s a little background that may nudge you in that direction pretty quickly:

Long before Duke’s was born, a woman named Eugenia (her last name was Duke, of course) moved to Greenville with her husband. The year was 1910.

Duke’s Eugenia had a real talent for making sandwiches that soon were in such high demand that she opened a little sandwich shop in the old Ottaray Hotel in downtown Greenville. That was in 1920 — but only after…

Eugenia spent three years (1917-1920) delivering sandwiches to the hungry soldiers at Greenville’s Camp Sevier.

Library of Congress/PAN US MILITARY - Camps no. 132 (E size) [P&P]/Peden J. R./no known restrictions on publication According to the archives at Duke’s, by 1918, Eugenia had sold 11,000 sandwiches! Wondering what made them so good? It was Eugenia’s famous spread - which remained unnamed at that point. But it wasn’t nameless for long.

After three years of selling her famous sandwiches from her small sandwich shop at the Ottaray Hotel, in 1923, Eugenia decides to give up sandwich making and instead, focuses solely on her famous spread.

“State News,“The Southeastern Librarian: Vol. 59 : Iss. 2 , Article 3.

Her little production line for the egg-based spread had been mostly at her home but there soon proved a need for a larger space to meet the demands for the new Duke’s Mayonnaise.

Google Local/Michale Byrd

In 1926, the large-scale production of Duke’s Mayonnaise got underway in Greenville’s factory district on the banks of the Reedy River…

Google Local/Andrew Carper In a building most people who have been to Greenville will instantly recognize.

And the rest is such sweet and smooth history, it spreads like Duke’s Mayo on a turkey sandwich.

Dukes

In March of 2018, the City of Greenville named a bridge after Eugenia Duke in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Duke’s Sandwiches and Mayonnaise.

Facebook/Duke’s Mayonnaise

Duke’s Mayonnaise has been around for so long it’s practically synonymous with South Carolina. Read more about the history of South Carolina’s favorite sandwich spread on the official website for Duke’s Mayonnaise.

Duke’s

Eugenia had a real talent for making sandwiches that soon were in such high demand that she opened a little sandwich shop in the old Ottaray Hotel in downtown Greenville. That was in 1920 — but only after…

Library of Congress/PAN US MILITARY - Camps no. 132 (E size) [P&P]/Peden J. R./no known restrictions on publication

According to the archives at Duke’s, by 1918, Eugenia had sold 11,000 sandwiches! Wondering what made them so good? It was Eugenia’s famous spread - which remained unnamed at that point. But it wasn’t nameless for long.

“State News,“The Southeastern Librarian: Vol. 59 : Iss. 2 , Article 3.

Google Local/Michale Byrd

Google Local/Andrew Carper

In a building most people who have been to Greenville will instantly recognize.

Dukes

Facebook/Duke’s Mayonnaise

Did you know Duke’s was first mass-produced in what is now the Peace Center’s Wyche Pavilion? What’s your favorite mayo? Careful, if you don’t answer “Duke’s,” then everyone will know where you place your loyalties.

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