Polish cafe Polska Laska opens in Sharpsburg

Olive Visco recalled watching her grandmother Staniswava Zawistowski braiding the dough around the edges to keep the potato and cheese tucked inside.

The family pierogi recipe Zawistow­ski always used came from Visco’s great-grandmother, Anna Zawistowski. It is one that continues to be handed down through the generations of this Polish family.

“I make pierogi to pay homage to my heritage,” said Visco, 31, inside Polska Laska, a Polish cafe she opened recently in Sharpsburg. “It’s a family tradition. They would make pierogies for everyone, especially on the holidays.”

Visco, who is a new mom, wanted to open a cafe to keep the pierogi tradition alive. Just like her ancestors, she creates each pierogi by hand, creating the braided edge as those who did before her. Everything is made fresh, she said.

Seeing customers embrace her shop’s grand opening weekend was a special moment, Visco said.

“It was overwhelming,” she said. “It felt like a dream. I had this idea in my mind for years, but to see everyone here was joyful. It was perfect.”

The family affair is visible throughout her shop. Her father, Kip Beals, created the wood countertop. Her mother, Victoria Beals, helped her search for vintage Formica tables and chairs as well as plates, cups and silverware from days gone by at thrift shops and on Facebook Marketplace. There are pieces of family artwork displayed on the walls. Ceramic heads of cabbage adorn the midcentury modern-inspired space.

A customer created a piece of art with the shop’s name made of wood.

Two old-fashioned decorative mirrors, which Visco uses as menu boards by writing on them with erasable markers, hang on the wall. The larger one, trimmed in gold, was available on Facebook Marketplace for $200. When Visco went to buy it from a woman in Fox Chapel, she shared the story of the cafe and that she was a new mom. The woman told her to take the mirror for no charge.

“She told me, ‘This mirror is meant to be with you,’ ” Visco said. “That was really, really nice of her.”

Pierogies are $20 a dozen. Visco said there will be the well-known potato and aged-white cheddar cheese pierogi as well as sauerkraut and mushroom, among other flavors and vegan options. Visco will make various soups, such as wild mushroom and Boston clam “chowda” — some of her family is from Massachusetts — as well as serve kielbasa, haluski and cabbage rolls.

Originally from Franklin in Venango County, Visco said she plans to make at least 1,200 pierogis a week for the shop.

“Polish food is not a cuisine a lot of young people do,” Visco said. “It is old school and all made by hand. There is no machine to make the pierogies the way my family makes them.”

Menu options will change. Customers can dine in or take it to go. Catering and pre-orders are available.

Visco started the business during the 2020 pandemic when she lost her job. She started making pierogies for family and friends in her Swissvale home. She’s built up a social media following and now prepares everything at the shop. Her experience includes working 16 years in restaurants.

State Sen. Lindsey M. Williams, D-38th, whose district includes Sharpsburg, posted on Facebook about the recent opening of Polska Laska.

“It’s so wonderful to have a new, local place to eat and for the community to gather,” Williams said via email. “I’m excited for Polska Laska to have a permanent location in Sharpsburg, but even more excited to try out their pierogies.”

In addition to her great-grandmother, who came from Poland, and grandmother, her mother taught her how to make pierogies. Her great-aunt, Annie Ostrander, made the best pierogies even as she lost her sight as she aged.

In addition to the family connection, pierogies and Pittsburgh are also a great combination, Visco said.

“It’s totally a comfort food,” Visco said. “I wanted to create a business to help support our family and carry on those traditions of my grandmother, great-grandmother, great-aunt and my mom.”

Polska Laska is at 1100 N. Canal St., Sharpsburg. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday (Visco said she plans to extend days and hours).