Discovering Galena Garlic Company

Madison Main Street Program
1 day ago
3 min read

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

Galena Garlic manager Colleen Gluba couldn’t be happier with the store’s location at 402 Broadway St., on the corner with Main Street.

“You get so much foot traffic. There’s always something going on at the fountain,” she says. Weddings, proposals, prom pictures – and every Saturday morning from May through September the Madison Farmers Market unfolds right outside their windows.

“I could spend my whole paycheck at the Farmers Market!” exclaims Colleen. Then there’s the fact that the market’s customer base is so close to that of Galena Garlic – people who care about cooking and what ingredients go into their food. The extra virgin olive oils, balsamic vinegars and spice blends at Galena Garlic offer cooks convenience plus high quality. “Our motto has always been ‘sprinkle, cook and eat,” says Colleen. The freeze-dried products like soup have no additives. Jams and jellies have minimal ingredients besides the fruits they are made from.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

The company’s founding entrepreneur, Laszlo Marton, refers to himself as “just a farmer,” according to the manager of his Madison shop. “He’s basically a farmers market success story,” Colleen says.

Marton started his first brick-and-mortar store in Galena, Ill. There are now five stores. He and his daughter, Nina Stahl, run the business from Nashville, Tenn., where they continue to grow their own garlic and scapes. They import the best olive oils and balsamics from Italy and make their own spice blends. Galena Garlic continues to sell regularly at the Nashville Farmers Market.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

One of the reasons customers are loyal to Galena Garlic is that the knowledgeable staff is so willing to share ideas for using the products.

“I love to cook. That’s my therapy in life,” says Colleen. “I’ve been in restaurants my whole life.” Her 22 years in business include 10 years as a restaurant manager in Charleston, S.C., several years as a restaurant consultant and special events coordinator in New York City, and then additional years in Key West, Fla., managing a restaurant for her former Charleston employer. She moved her family to Madison in 2012 to be near her mother.

Although she considers her area of expertise to be numbers and data, she does have an MBA in marketing, so when an opening came up at Galena Garlic in May 2025, she was eager to try retailing. She just loves “playing” with the products and bouncing creative ideas back and forth with customers.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

“I think people are just looking for something new,” says Danielle Imel, another employee who loves to great creative with customers.

“It’s funny – in summer a lot of our business is from campers,” says Danielle. Apparently visitors at Clifty Falls and the city’s riverfront campground are looking beyond hotdogs and s’mores these days. A store with 25 kinds of olive oil, right next to a farmers market, may be just what they’re looking for.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

Galena Garlic also offers “grab and go” items for gifts, a popular option for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Christmas.

Colleen Gluba adds that the store’s spice mixes are a great gift for young people going off to school or their first home. Her own son was used to high quality meals when under her roof, she says. She couldn’t imagine sending him off college and a life of boxed macaroni-and-cheese. He got a survival package that included Galena Garlic’s Tikki Marsala spice blend, so he can continue his good eating habits at school.

Photo Credit to Lindsay Holley with the Madison Main Street Program

At Galena Garlic, staff are more than willing to share ideas for using their products to up your own cooking game. The Madison store is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, as well as 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Online shopping is also available at www.galenagarlic.com.

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