SALSA FOR EVERY TASTE FROM DOOR-TO-DOOR TO BIG TIME.

Byline: PATRICK ST. MICHEL Special to the Daily News

ANTELOPE ACRES -- Business people know they've made it when emerging entrepreneurs seek out their advice.

Case in point: Tina Bonsall.

On a recent Monday morning, Bonsall graciously shared business tips with Sandi Harding, an Antelope Valley resident looking to launch an all-natural cookie enterprise.

``If people had given me advice at the start, I wouldn't have had as many hardships,'' Bonsall says from behind her desk at Tinita's Homestyle Salsa in Antelope Acres.

The mentor-status Bonsall currently enjoys could hardly be imagined when she first started selling her homemade dip door-to-door in 2003.

These days Bonsall's salsas -- which now come in 20 different varieties -- are sought out by television personalities and big-time Hollywood producers, as well as regular folks who have taken to Tinita's unique blends.

The former homemaker stepped into the salsa market using a family recipe after attending a business expo.

``Everybody always wanted me to market my salsa,'' Bonsall says. ``So I said, `What the heck? Go for it.' And I did.''

The Quartz Hill native took her family's 100-year-old salsa recipe, added her own personal touches and began selling her culinary creation to her neighbors. In short order, local stores became interested in the salsa, and started stocking the product on their shelves.

After her first year, Bonsall says she sold about 40,000 jars of salsa. Profits have been skyward since.

``Our first year, we made $15,000,'' she says. ``This year, my third year, we estimate making about $250,000.''

As more money started accumulating, Bonsall opened up an 1,800 square-foot store in Antelope Acres in 2004. The business attracts a solid following.

``We get about 18 people in the store on an average weekday,'' Bonsall says. ``On the weekends, we get around 30 to 40 visitors.''

Much of Tonita's salsa is made right on the store's premises, with the help of Bonsall's family.

When she first launched her salsa start-up, her family was more than skeptical.

``They thought I was crazy,'' she says with a laugh.

Her family has since warmed up to her enterprise, and now help her pump out various flavors ranging from Strawberry Mango Peach, Pure Honey and Fig in heat levels running from ``mild'' to ``flaming.'' Her current pet project is a peanut butter salsa.

``I just experiment with what tastes good,'' Bonsall says. ``I'm really putting my tastebuds to the test.''

Her experimentation has paid off: earlier this year, the Lancaster JetHawks began offering Tinita's Salsa at Clear Channel Stadium.

Her salsa is stocked at Whole Foods Markets across California. The QVC shopping network may soon sell her dip over the air.

She also is seeing success on the Web, where her newly established online store has sent out over 400 orders since April.

Tinita's Homestyle Salsa has even caught tinseltown's eye, notably that of film producer Peter MacGregor Scott.

``He ordered one of every salsa that we sold,'' she says. ``It was going to a big producer event.''

Scott, who has produced films such as ``The Fugitive'' and ``Born in East L.A.,'' invited Bonsall and her family over to his home for breakfast.

Tinita's celebrity clientele also extends to the small screen. Huell Howser, host of PBS' ``California Gold,'' featured the small Antelope Acres store in an episode earlier this year.

Howser now orders some every week, Bonsall said.

Even with star-studded shoppers and increasing success, Bonsall says she still has big plans for her bustling business.

``I would like to have a big warehouse out here,'' she says. ``I'd also like a 4,000 square foot kitchen here.''

Bonsall may have lofty goals, but says she still takes pleasure in simple customer satisfaction.

``Just seeing the customer's face when they eat it, and just loving it and saying it's the best salsa they have ever had,'' she says. ``It gives me a sense of gratefulness that people really enjoy it.''

Visit Tinita's Homestyle Salsa 47904 90th St. W. in Antelope Acres, or call at [phone].

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Photo:

(color -- ran in AV edition only) Tina Bonsall began selling her homemade salsa in 2003, going door to door to earn about $15,000. Three years later, Tinita's Homestyle Salsa is sold at supermarkets across the region, including Whole Foods, raking in $250,000.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News