After major renovations in 2000 and 2001, the Museum was renamed Levine Museum of the New South, honoring Sandra and Leon Levine's leading contributions to the Museum's development during its first decade.

Leon Levine's story is a testament to the power of a good idea nurtured by hard work. At age 22, he opened his first Family Dollar store in 1959 on Central Avenue in Charlotte, N.C. By 2001, the company had in excess of 4,300 stores in 39 states, employing over 35,000 people. The original concept, which has remained at the core of the company's business operations into the 21st century, centered on providing a clean and well-lighted self-service neighborhood discount store that appealed to value-conscience customers.

Levine, who grew up in Rockingham, N.C., has supported many educational, cultural, civic and Jewish organizations in North Carolina and around the world. He has received wide recognition for his philanthropy, including honors from the State of Israel and Duke University. In Charlotte, he and his wife, Sandra, were leaders in the creation of Shalom Park, and the Jewish Community Center located there was named in their honor, as was the Levine Center on the campus of Charlotte Country Day School. Sandra Levine was a founding board member of the Museum of the New South in 1991.