Suzie Barhyte: Co-Founder/Award Winning Mom

Barhyte Specialty Foods

Four days out of high school, Suzie Barhyte tied the knot.  Not only with her husband, but with a future rich in friends, family and food.  Yet until then, Suzie had not set foot in the kitchen.  In fact, she had to learn how to boil water - something that was not required to graduate from Oregon’s West Linn High School in 1966. 

When son Chris arrived in December 1967, however, boiling water was just one of the many skills Suzie needed to learn.  She immediately started experimenting in the kitchen, making everything from scratch.  “I really enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom,” she says, noting that by this time she and husband Jan had added sons Mike and Jeff to the brood.  “I was cooking everything from fresh baked bread, to homemade pasta in the mornings, and spending time with my sons and friends in the afternoons.”  

In 1979, Jan and Suzie opened Swift & Martin Station Deli because Suzie “wanted to bring good coffee, good cheeses, meats, soups and other gourmet foods” to their hometown in Pendleton, Oregon. Swift & Martin Station Deli became the local source for all things good including homemade mustards that hailed from generations-old family recipes. The deli, named after a famous supply stop along the Oregon Trail, became the local trading post for the best mustard west of the Mississippi.  Suzie and Jan began giving mustard as gifts during the holidays to frequent customers, who eventually returned on a regular basis to just buy their creations.

Today Suzie (more affectionately referred to as “Mom”) is the brains behind all of the marinades, sauces, mustards, and dressings that Barhyte Specialty Foods offers.  In keeping with the family heritage, Suzie demands only the finest ingredients for her recipes, which have paid off with happy customers and many awards in international competitions.

Besides whipping up tantalizing condiments, Suzie enjoys spending time with her husband, sons, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren.  She loves to work with her grandchildren in the kitchen, and pass along her passion for cooking.

Barhyte Specialty Foods, based out of Pendleton, Oregon, has roots dating back 200 years and 6,000 miles away in Germany, where Jacobus Barhyte first created a sweet and sour mustard that he brought to the US.  Many generations later, Jan and Susan Barhyte began selling mustard from the original recipe, as well as other signature creations, through their Swift and Martin Station Deli.  Thanks to overwhelming demand, the family launched their own manufacturing operation in 1977. Today, the company offers more than 65 award-winning mustards, marinades, sauces, and other condiments through the Barhyte Specialty Foods brand, as well as through co-branded and private label relationships.