Joseph Bertman (1902–1988) born in Lublin, Poland, founded Joseph Bertman, Inc., as a wholesale grocery business in the 1920s in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He created the formulation for a mustard that became iconic in

, which spawned two brands, Bertman Original Ball Park Mustard and Stadium Mustard.Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
- JOSEPH BERTMAN, INC. Bertman began the business in his twenties with a partner in a garage at the Bertman home at E. 147th near Kinsman, where spices and pickles were processed and packaged. The partner was bought out during the first few years of the business.Bertman Ballpark Mustard - Official Site
- About Us Bertman expanded his sales territory from Cleveland to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. After

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he had negotiated exclusive distribution rights to many food products with a fleet of trucks and a large sales force. The company moved to 653 E. 103rd by the mid-1930s, and changed its name to Bertman Pickle Co.. Not too shortly after that, the company moved again, this time to 2180 E. 76th. The company changed its name to Bertman Foods Company, which is now located at 7777 Grand Avenue in Cleveland. The company sold pickles, salad dressings, spices, coffees, teas, and canned and dried foods products to schools, hospitals, and other large-scale food operations. His company supplied mustard to

League Park League Park was a baseball park located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was situated at the northeast corner of Dunham Street (now known as East 66th Street) and Lexington Avenue in the Hough, Cleveland, Hough neighborhood. It was buil ...

(then the home of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

) and the

Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and foot ...

. Known for coming up with products to meet the needs of his clients, Bertman invented his spicy brown mustard in 1921. His mustard, under the family label, is served at major sports venues in Cleveland to this day. The mustard branded by one of his former employees, Stadium Authentic Mustard, is sold in retail stores, supermarkets, and online, and served in over 150 stadiums and arenas throughout the United States, but not in most

sports stadiums, where the competing Bertman's Original brand continues to be sold. Bertman befriended and mentored many well-known names in the food business. It is said that he introduced Chef Boy-ar-dee creator Hector Boyardee to

Vernon Stouffer Vernon Bigelow Stouffer (August 22, 1901 – July 26, 1974) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist & businessman. Stouffer graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1923. He was the founder and president of th ...

. Lewis J. Minor started his food company, L.J. Minor Corporation with a sublet of a back room at a Bertman warehouse on E. 76th street between Cedar and Central.

History

Bertman, born in Lublin, Poland, came to Cleveland as a child with his parents. He was the oldest of several children, his company biography notes.BertmanBallParkMustard.com
- Official Website - About

History

References

See also