In 1926, Harry and Lena Tulkoff opened a produce business on Lombard Street’s “Corned Beef Row” in Baltimore. Family lore has it that one day, a man walked into their store and told Harry he had a load of horseradish he wanted to sell. Sensing an opportunity, Harry purchased the entire lot of the pungent root and piled it between layers of straw to keep it fresh until he needed it.
From Harry’s entrepreneurial impulse, Tulkoff Horseradish Products was born.
Originally, the horseradish was ground by hand before being mixed with vinegar and salt and bottled in glass jars. As the business grew, Harry invested in motorized equipment, which is now on display in the museum’s Food Processing gallery.
Over the decades, the Tulkoffs, their sons, and their grandchildren expanded the business, moving to larger facilities on Lombard Street and adding new products and bulk sizes. In the 1980s, the Tulkoffs left Lombard Street for a 55,000 square foot warehouse in Butcher’s Hill, further expanding their product line.
Today, Tulkoff Food Products’ plants in Baltimore City and Cincinnati supply grocers, wholesalers, and restaurant chains around the world.
