museums&MORE Spring 2016
Barry Levenson

Founder & Curator Barry Levenson
National Mustard Museum
Middleton, Wisconsin

MM: What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love to see people laughing with us, enjoying themselves in an improbable museum that doesn’t take itself too seriously. We are a real museum and people do learn about mustard but they have a good time doing so.

MM: Does anything you learned from working for the Wisconsin Attorney General’s office apply to what you do now? 

I was head of the Criminal Appeals Division, so I learned that you don’t want to mess around on the edges of the law, especially now that the only lawyer there with a sense of humor left 25 years ago.

MM: What do you wish you had known about being a retailer before you got started?

Everything! Retail is a learn-as-you-go process and you just hope the mistakes you make are not too costly and that you learn from them. I wish I had known then that it’s important to employ people smarter than you — and let them do their jobs.

MM: What is your top-selling mustard? 

Slimm & Nunne’s Sweet & Nicely Hot Mustard is by far our bestseller. After tasting hundreds of mustards over the years (maybe more than a thousand) and listening to our visitors, I figured out what people like and had a top mustard producer make this one for us. I never get tired of it and neither do our visitors. Several area stores and even shops outside of Wisconsin sell it, too. It’s that good!





Social Connections


📣 Meet our speakers! 📣The Garden Center Show, presented by Lawn & Garden Retailer, is excited to announce our Keynote Speakers! 📣 Michelle Sherrier: Owner of MC Design Academy and host of The Retail Whore Podcast📣 Tim Quebedeaux: Owner of RetailKPI and Service Provider for The Garden Center GroupBe sure to check them out, along with our full, FREE conference schedule for The Garden Center Show, Aug. 6-7 in Rosemont, IL.🔗 Register for FREE: LGRMag.com/GCSRegister🌐 Learn more: www.gardencentershow.com🚌 Bus tour info: lgrmag.com/LGRBusTour#GCS24 #GardenCenterShow #GardenEvents #InPersonEvent #Networking #RetailStrategies #SpecialtyRetailers #GardenCenter #Conference #speaker #keynotespeaker ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Gift Shop Plus Winter 2024
Get one year of Gift Shop Plus in both print and digital editions for just $16.

Interested in reading the print edition of Gift Shop Plus?

Subscribe Today »

website development by deyo designs