In 2001, Terry Smith-Rawecki, her husband Jan and her mother got together to make about 30 dozen handmade pierogie to take to the farmers market in Ligonier.
“Gosia’s Pierogies” sold out that afternoon, and by the end of that summer, they were bringing 90 dozen pierogie to the popular market.
“Everyone loved them so much, they told us we had to come back the next year,” Smith-Rawecki said through a longtime friend and interpreter. Both Smith-Rawecki and her husband are deaf. “So we eventually built a separate building next to our house, but we couldn’t keep up.”
The Unity couple eventually purchased property along Route 981, and have gradually been migrating the business to the new location, where they will host a grand opening at their new distribution center from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday.
Starting with the classic potato-and-cheese pierogie recipe that Smith-Rawecki said she can trace back to at least her Polish great-grandmother, Gosia’s has expanded over the years to add fillings including sauerkraut, sweet potatoes, and even unusual fillings such as prunes.
“People didn’t like those ones too much,” she said “What’s really popular right now is our potato-and-cheese pierogie with jalapeño peppers.”
The prepackaged trays of pierogie are precooked, already boiled and only in need of some fried onions, a little olive oil and butter, she said.
To help with the packaging, Gosia’s recently added a new custom-built machine that automates the process.
“The rep from Reiser spent two weeks working with us, training everyone and helping us get familiar with it,” said Jan, who grew up in Wroclaw, Poland, and moved the U.S. at age 25. “It does all the packaging and sealing.”
From a fun family activity that began in Smith-Rawecki’s kitchen to a full-fledged business, Gosia’s production process is now largely automated — although she was quick to point out that they still peel all their potatoes by hand.
Gosia’s is also a deaf-friendly business. Smith-Rawecki said most of its eight employees are partially or fully deaf.
Smith-Rawecki said the biggest challenge they’ve faced is connecting with large-scale food distributors and getting into regional grocery chains.
“But now that we’ve gotten into places like Giant Eagle, the food speaks for itself,” she said.
Gosia’s Pierogies is at 5803 Route 981 in Unity. The grand opening will be from 4-6 p.m. For more, or to RSVP, see GosiasPierogies.com.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862, [email protected] or via Twitter .
