Business Spotlight: Uncle Norm's Kickin' Mustard

Anyone who's been to the has likely met or at least heard the voice of Norm Savard. An eager salesman and truly friendly soul, he beckons to everyone who walks by his Uncle Norm's Kickin' Mustard booth.

“Hey! Try my mustard! You'll love it,” he shouts, his blue eyes glinting like Santa Claus' might.

Savard is almost always right. Many of his loyal customers love his mustard. They order by the case.

“One woman came to the market and said, 'My family is in withdrawal. I need six jars now,'” Savard said. “I guess that means I'm famous.”

Though it's his most popular product, mustard isn't all Savard offers. He also sells jars of pickles, sauerkraut, barbeque sauce, and pickled beets. After purchasing vegetables from area farmers, he does all of the canning at home in his kitchen.

“Now that I'm retired I have more time to do what I want,” Savard said.

The operation grew out of his family's obsession with his mustard.

“They liked it. So I picked out a name and my son-in-law made up a business card and here I am,” Savard said.

John Burley, a Hartland resident and one of Savard's regular customers, said he stops at Uncle Norm's Kickin' Mustard booth whenever her can.

“I like to buy local, and everything of Norm's is always good,” Burely said.

Mixed in among the food products are two products that represent Savard's life-long woodworking hobby: birdhouses and small-scale catapults. Savard said he has been creating birdhouses since he can remember. And he designed the wooden spoon catapults for his grandson's Boy Scouts of America troop.

Savard, 80, was born in Detroit and has lived in southeastern Michigan all his life. He used to own several rental properties and operate an industrial sheet metal business. He moved to Hartland 14 years ago when he retired and now lives with one of his daughters in a house he and his son-in-law built. His other children and nine grandchildren live in the area, and Savard, who just welcomed his first great grandchild, is happy to have the company.

“It's nice that we're all together,” Savard said, citing fishing trips and family picnics.

As for his moniker, Savard said that his family has always called him Uncle Norm.

“I like it. It's friendly-sounding and not too common,” Savard said.

In addition to the Hartland Farmer's Market, Savard attends the South Lyon and Whitmore Lake markets. During cooler months, he's a regular at arts and craft shows and church sales. The business keeps him busy and content.

“I don't want this thing to grow to big,” Savard said. "I'm having fun now, and I have everything I want.”

Editor's note: This is part of a series of articles on vendors at the Hartland Farmer's Market that will run either on Friday or Saturday over the next several weeks. The market — which is in the parking lot of the Hartland Educational Support Service Center, 9525 Highland Rd — is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October.